Rising
by Josafeena
Summary: Something happens before Marcus is buried
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Rising

**Fandom**: Terminator Salvation**  
Rating:** M - MA**  
Author's Note:** The aim was to write a little wish fulfilment ficlet to tide me over while I struggled with a longer fic that's got caught on its own plotholes. It's been such a long time since I wrote any fanfiction but this film got me oddly fired up, which is unfortunate given the amount of technical jargon required. This is something I pretty much wrote while procrastinating in work but if nothing else I hope it adds to the burgeoning volumes of TS stories and maybe someone will read it and be inspired to write a better story.**  
Characters/Pairings: **Marcus/Blair  
**Warnings**: Movie spoilers  
**Summary**: Something happens before Marcus is buried.

__________________________________________________________________

Blair watched from afar as Barnes and the Reese kid dug a hole in the dusty earth.

She felt too numb to be of any use to them. She'd kissed Marcus goodbye then stood by as Kate cut the flesh from his chest and blow-torched her way though his chest plate to his throbbing heart. She would always regret having stuck around for it, hating that that was to be her last image of him, but she'd wanted to be there in the end, when the heart was removed, and his death became final.

The little kid, Star, sat beside Blair. She had wandered away from the tents once Marcus had been put to sleep, dragging the bewildered teenager with her. She had been the one to select a site in the shade of a spiky acacia tree where they could lay him to rest.

Death was no stranger to Blair. She couldn't recall the number of fellow pilots she'd said goodbye to over the past few years. She'd like to think she'd gotten better at letting go but it had been so long since someone had gotten inside her like Marcus. Seeing him haul John Connor out of Skynet central was the happiest sight she'd ever seen. To lose him so quickly, it left her feeling beaten and raw.

After a while the two boys stopped digging and sat themselves on the edge of hole, in shared and reverent silence. Despite Barnes' initial hatred of the machine that thought it was a man, he'd been quick to help Kyle in this most human of rituals – returning a soul to the earth.

It was many hours after the operation began that Kate Connor emerged from the tent, pulling her blood stained gloves and gown off. She wiped sweat from her brow and groaned as she stretched her back.

Barnes was first to leap up; keen to know the outcome of the operation.

Kate met his eyes and smiled tiredly. "It was a success. He didn't reject the heart."

It was a small comfort to know that Marcus's sacrifice would not be for nothing, that they would have their leader back to full health soon.

Kate looked over the group, lingering on the forlorn-looking Kyle Reese before meeting Blair's eyes.

"You can take the body, now."

Blair entered the tent where they'd left Marcus's body. A bloody sheet was draped over the gaping cavity in his chest. Blair pulled back the sheet a little to see his face.

In her mind dead bodies were usually paler, but Marcus looked as though he was sleeping. She hesitantly touched his brow, running her fingertips along his eyebrow and temple. Her thumb touched his lips. He was cold, not icy, but cold like his skin had been that night in the desert. She wanted to go back to that night and do it over. This time she would be direct with him. She would slide her hands under his clothes and feel every inch of skin and make him do the same. She would take every pleasure and comfort she could from him, and show no restraint or reserve. And she would lead him far from Connor and the war and the machines. Find them a forest to hide in.

She was interrupted from her daydream when Barnes entered, carrying a black body bag. He surprised her by gently asking if she needed more time.

She shook her head and held her hand out for the body-bag. Together they wrestled the weighty cadaver into the plastic wrapping then used a stretcher to carry it outside.

Star was standing by the grave, clutching a bouquet of tall desert grass in her little hand. Kyle sat beside her, his long legs dangling into the grave. They both stared at the black body bag as Blair and Barnes lowered it to the ground beside them.

Blair hadn't thought much about the kids Marcus had been so intent on rescuing from Skynet but she knew she would do everything in her power to watch over them from now on. Star had been so calm up to now, not speaking a word, though that seemed to be the norm for her. So it was somewhat unnerving when she froze, an expression of intense alertness on her otherwise passive face.

Kyle noticed and began to look around in alarm. "Something's …" He began.

The something that Star had been alerted to happened in an instant.

The body-bag jerked and convulsed, then a gut-wrenching howl emerged and limbs began to flail against the thick black plastic.

They were all too shocked to move, but Kyle was first to crawl closer and pull the zip down.

Barnes had his gun out and ready as Marcus sat up gasping and choking. Still in convulsions, his chest rocked as though trying to pump a heart that wasn't there. He scrambled out of the body bag in horror then cried out again as he saw the flap of flesh hanging off his chest, and the empty space where his heart used to be.

"Marcus, hey," Blair knelt in front him, but keeping a safe distance.

His hands shook as he tried to press the skin back onto his metal chest, a pained groan sounding in the back of his throat.

"Marcus." She tried again. This time his wild and panicked eyes met hers. His breathing was coming in choked hiccupping gasps.

"Kate!" Barnes barked.

"What is it?" Kate emerged from the tent. "Holy shit!" She was startled by the sight of Marcus's naked corpse now thoroughly animated, choking and shaking on the ground. "How it this even possible?"

Blair was still trying to get Marcus to calm down as Kate grabbed her shoulder to gracelessly lower her heavy body to the ground.

She tried to peer into his chest, but Marcus flinched away.

"Stop trying to breathe." She ordered him sternly. "There must have been some kind of back up power source."

Marcus eventually calmed, though still looking thoroughly shaken. "I'm supposed to be dead."

"Well you're not." Kate sighed. She slowed got herself back onto her feet. "A secondary power source didn't show up on our scans, who knows what else they have hidden on him."

"No!" Blair cried, instinctively moving protectively in front of him.

Kate continued despite the horrified expressions of her audience. "He could be a bomb or a tracker…"

"If he was a bomb, wouldn't he have gone off by now?" Kyle argued.

Kate shrugged. "It might not trigger until he gets facial recognition of John."

"I'm not..." Marcus began, but didn't finish, clearly uncertain as to whether he had any malevolent programming hidden within him.

Kate sighed, scrubbing her face. She'd been her feet for hours now, her lower back was throbbing, and the baby felt heavier than ever. "I need to get John back to base immediately. Barnes, you're second in command, it's your call."

"Barnes, please." Blair implored him.

Barnes gazed at the fearful-looking machine, looking long and hard before he spoke in his deep and soft baritone. "We could put him in the box til we get back to base." He inclined his head towards Blair's chopper.

The box he referred to was an armoured chest they used for transporting electronic munitions so that they wouldn't be detected by Skynet scans. It was a fair guess to suggest that if Skynet couldn't detect any electronic weaponry this way then neither could it track Marcus if he was concealed within.

Blair nodded, relieved. "Alright, let's do that."

"We're Oscar Mike in 5, people!" Barnes yelled, marching off to get them packed up and ready to go.

"Blair." Marcus grabbed her arm. "She's right. I don't what they might have left inside me…"

She smiled grimly, helping him up. "We'll figure it out."

"Welcome back." Kyle grinned widely as Star ran over to him, wrapping herself around his bare leg.

He suddenly felt rather self conscious, as his privates slapped against his thigh and the skin on his chest flapped free.

"Where are my clothes?"

* * *

By the time the tents were dismantled and packed away, Marcus was becoming acquainted with the box that would carry him to the Resistance base. Barnes had found his pants and boots and even rustled up a nearly new shirt for him, while Blair and Kyle had removed the contents of the box - mostly casing, spare wiring and detonators - and prepped the choppers for take off.

He looked down at it with grim acceptance. It was roughly four foot long, and maybe two and half wide, meaning he would have to pull his knees up to his chest to fit. Airless too – which meant not breathing, and trying not to drown in his sweat, which was something that still baffled him as to why Skynet had seen fit to leave him with that particularly wonderful human feature. But mostly it would be tight, uncomfortable and pitch black.

"How long will it take to get there?"

"About 4 hours." Blair told him, looking as anxious as he felt.

He scratched his chest. With all the activity getting the temporary camp packed up, there had been no one on hand to stitch up his chest. Barnes had gruffly agreed to seal it up with electrical tape for him, mumbling all the while about Blair owing him. The tape itched now, pulling at his skin, a constant reminder of what was he was now. He was uncomfortably reminded of his old boombox with the batteries held in with tape.

"Maybe they could put him under again?" Kyle suggested looking over at where Kate and the other field medic were loading John Connor onto Blair's helicopter. He was heavily bandaged and had an IV; various leads to portable heart monitors and EKGs connected to his body, as well as an oxygen mask over his mouth. It was strange for all three of them to see the once fierce and determined leader looking so damaged.

Blair walked over to Kate to catch her before she got up into the helicopter with him. She leaned close to make her request.

Kate pursed her lips, but limped back to where Marcus and Kyle were waiting by the box, her head turning every now and then to look back at her husband, as though worried he might awaken and not find her at his side.

"There isn't a lot of anaesthetic left over from the operation, I couldn't be certain it would last the whole journey." She sighed. "We know so little about how his physiology works. But I can try." She was rubbing her forehead tiredly again.

"I imagine medical supplies are hard to come by." Marcus decided the resistance had enough reasons to distrust him without him using up vital sedatives that would be needed another time, for a genuine injury. "It's alright, I'll do without."

He took a deep breath, and then another, as though readying himself for a dive. He stepped into the box, knelt down, and then turned to lie on his side. It was tight between his knees pressed up against one side and his back against the other, but he could shift minutely and move his knees closer to his chest if he needed to.

He looked up at Blair, Kyle and Kate frowning down at him.

He swallowed. "See you in four hours." He gave the nod and Blair swung the lid shut. It closed over him with a hiss, and then he listened to the locks clicking sealing him in. At first he heard nothing other than his own body shifting and his pointless breathing, and then he began to hear something else. A pulse, not like a human pulse of heart beating but quiet throb of a machine. His new heartbeat, he guessed with a huff.

Suddenly the box began to move. He was banged about as it was carried, presumably to the other helicopter. The movement stopped with a thump, and was then quiet.

It was incredibly disorientating to be moved about, but without light or sound he lost all sense of balance and direction.

After a while he could feel a vibration which he guessed to be the helicopter engine starting up. Soon he would be airborne, a thought that left him a little nauseous. He wondered if he would be better off trying to sleep or a least tune out all thought of what was happening outside the box.

He didn't recall having slept a minute since he'd woken to this nightmarish future a few days ago. He may not have even been capable of it anymore, why would a machine need to sleep?

As if to prove that thought wrong he let his eyes relax and consciously slowed his breathing. He tried to loosen his limbs allowing the motion to sway him, rather than disturb. After a while his mind wandered to thoughts of Blair, lying with her that night in the desert. And with that memory he was lulled into a kind of robot slumber.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**  
Author's Note: **Thanks you to those who reviewed, all very encouraging, so here's another chapter, and the promise of more to come. **  
**

__________________________________________________________________

**Chapter 2 **

His cell was a dank and grimy former storage room, with one dim light-bulb hanging overhead and some rusty oil drums in the corner. Manacles on his wrist and ankles chained him to the pipes with enough slack that he could sit and stand and move about 2 meters away from the wall, but he wasn't going to be leaving any time soon.

There wasn't much to do but sit on the floor, stare at the wall and wait for something to happen.

When they'd arrived at the base he'd been carried in his box directly to the basement where he was released and told to cooperate as they confined him.

"It's just a precaution." Blair told him as he was reluctantly chained. "When John's better he'll fix this."

They both knew it was a desperate hope that the great John Connor would be able to figure out a way to prove that Marcus was no longer until the thumb of his makers.

He felt so tense and anxious as he was put in restraints, memories of his first few days of incarceration came flooding back. Thankfully no orange jumpsuit this time, but neither was there a bed, or any sight of a window. No way to tell if it was day or night, or how much time would pass for him in this place.

Once they were satisfied that he was suitably shackled, the other resistance members hovered nearby waiting for Blair - no privacy was offered.

"Barnes and I talked it over on the way in." Blair stood leaning against the wall beside him, attempting a private conversation by turning her back towards the others. "He's sending me to the Nevada Bunker to coordinate the air support for Kansas. They've got a couple of T16s so I might actually get to do some flying."

After the destruction of Skynet's San Francisco base, the machines had lashed out against the other resistance cells in the Midwest and into the Deep South. With the leadership gone, the comms were flooded with calls for John Connor to take the reins. Kate had been the one to pick up his radio and use his usual channel to explain that he'd been injured in the battle of San Francisco but would soon be back on his feet.

She was smart enough to avoid any mention the heart transplant, his expected recovery time and certainly neglected to mention the machine they were currently housing in their basement.

John's command team were wary of the fact that if he didn't show signs of life to the rest of the resistance soon, someone else would seize the opportunity to step into the power vacuum and take command. No one was more aware of this than Kate Connor, who would have to find a balance between protecting her husband's position and protecting his health.

Marcus could sympathise with that. He knew that Blair, as a pilot, had a burning need to fly. She also had something to prove to the rest of her resistance cell. He didn't want her to be tarred as a machine lover and traitor for her association with him. Yet he was worried for her. She would be flying into battle, while he was locked up in the basement, wondering if he'd ever see the light of day.

"Be careful." He let his head bow closer to her ear to whisper. "Don't get caught on any pylons. I won't be there to catch you."

She grinned. "I don't usually need rescuing."

"Really?" He raised a playful eyebrow.

"Really." She had a killer smile. "I think you just like playing the hero."

He scoffed. "Any situation that makes me the good guy is pure accident." It felt like a natural response, the kind of banter he would have thrown at a pretty girl before he went to prison. But saying it reminded him that he wasn't just the convict from his previous existence. He was a machine, the very bad guy she was going off to fight.

Sobered by this though, he reached out, chains clanging, to touch the only person who made him feel human anymore. "Just come back, ok?"

She nodded, touched his cheek then turned to go, leaving him with the scent of her hair and a lingering warmth where her hand had been.

The door was slammed shut, creaking as the bolt was drawn across, locking him up for the night. He slid down the wall and sat with knees drawn up to his chest. He looked at the manacles, thick bracelets of iron. He was tempted to try and break one with his metal hand to see if he could, but what exactly would that do for him? Probably only make them more concerned for their safety, more paranoid about him breaking out and killing them all. And it sickened him to the core that Skynet might have some way to make him do that.

Marcus didn't know how much time had passed. He'd been sitting on his ass staring into space for a while. Then after a while he lay down and stared at the ceiling, letting his mind wander like he did when he was back in Longview, where there was nothing to do but think. This time however he had a lot to work on. When he'd connected with Skynet he'd taken in a considerable amount of information, not just about himself, but there was information there about Skynet, he just had to piece through it until he found something the Resistance could use. It was hard to see himself functioning like a computer, harder still given his lack of knowledge about computer. The information that had poured into his head when he'd made that connection had been painfully intense, and even now, accessing it took a certain amount of concentration.

This was probably how Kyle managed to catch him unaware.

"Hi!"

The enthusiastic greeting jolted him back to reality and brought him face to face with Kyle who was leaning over him.

"You were miles away."

Marcus sat up against the wall. "Just thinking."

"Sorry, it must be pretty boring down here."

"I'm used to it."

"Is this where they kept you last time?" Kyle asked looking around. He dropped to the ground beside Marcus, pulling his long limbs up to sit cross legged.

"No." He didn't volunteer any extra detail. They had hung him up because they believed he was a threat, and he didn't want Kyle to think less of them for it.

"Where's Star?"

"She's sleeping. That pilot lady gave us her bunk." He gave Marcus a sly look.

"What?" Marcus challenged him.

"Nothing, nothing." Kyle smirked. "She's really hot." This earned him an icy glare. "And she seems to really like you."

"What's not to like." He couldn't help the bitterness that crept into his voice. He caught Kyle staring at the chains and felt a wave of embarrassment and self-consciously covered his nearest wrist with his hand, which only drew attention to his skinless metal hand. Marcus flexed it, and they both watched servos and tiny pistons working intricately to mimic human movement.

"You're taking this whole … machine thing really well." He said quietly.

Kyle looked away and sighed, then chewed on his lip for a while.

"You didn't know what you were, did you?"

"No."

"It didn't seem weird to you that you didn't eat or sleep?"

"Didn't it seem weird to you?"

"I didn't notice!"

"Neither did I. I walked for days until I got to LA, and it never even occurred to me that I wasn't thirsty or hungry or tired."

"I just thought you were…" He shrugged. "Lots of people don't sleep these days, and no one volunteers to eat three day old coyote."

"It smelled like ..." Marcus tried to think of a suitable word without being too insulting.

"Sewer?" Kyle supplied.

"Yeah."

"They've got real food here, stuff that's made, like bread and stew. And they've got clean water."

Marcus felt for Kyle, that he would have such an appreciation for clean water, and for what he had to become to survive on his own in LA. He marvelled that the kid could be so open-hearted as to look after a little girl, as well as befriending a guy like Marcus.

"I hope they're looking after you and Star."

"Yeah, they are. I just wish I could help out." Some of the teen-aged restlessness began to shine through and Kyle fidgeting in his place. "I'm not used to not sitting around. Back in LA there was always something to do."

"I'm sure you won't be left idle for long." He had no doubt a kid as quick-witted and smart as Kyle would be put to use before long. "Did you see Connor?"

"No, he's in the infirmary. His wife's not letting anyone near him."

"I'm no expert but heart transplant's a pretty serious operation. I guess there's always the chance that it won't take."

"You mean he could still ..."

"I don't know. Kate's the doctor, you should really ask her." He felt certain that Connor, being the strong stubborn man that he was, would fight to accept the heart, but would likely have to suffer through a prolonged recovery.

They lapsed into silence, as Kyle stared around the room. "You know, I think I saw some books around, I'll go get some for you." He hopped up, and banged on the door to be let out before Marcus could object.

Kyle returned a little later. "They're just books, man!" He was arguing with the guard as he was let back in.

"He'll only let me give you one. So I picked the longest."

"Don't worry about it, Kyle." He took the proffered book. "'Gone with the Wind'?"

"Have you read it?"

"No, but…" He shook his head. He couldn't bring himself to say anything negative about it when Kyle had been thoughtful enough to help him with his boredom.

"I should really get back to Star." Kyle yawned and rubbed at his eyes, his youthful energy suddenly disappearing.

"Looks like you could do with some rest yourself." Marcus awkwardly got to his face, still uncomfortable with the weight of the chains. "Thanks for the book."

"I'll come by tomorrow." Kyle looked long and hard at him, eyes lingering on the restraints, evidently reluctant to leave him.

Marcus itched under the sorry gaze. He wants to reassure him in someway, but doesn't have the words.

Eventually Kyle turns to go, with a quiet, "Goodnight Marcus."

* * *

Kyle kept his word and visited with Marcus a little each day, sometimes twice when he was allowed. But he wasn't the only visitor Marcus received.

Kate Connor had a sharp and business-like bedside manner, and Marcus would like to think she was the same with every patient she met, not just the half human cyborgs she held a deep mistrust for.

He'd been lying on the ground reading the book Kyle brought him. Despite his preconceptions of the book and his vague memories of the pouting actress from the movie, he was beginning to like this ballsy and determined heroine and had kept reading, if only to find out if Scarlett would end up with the roguish Rhett Butler.

"How can you read in this light?"

He sat up, stiff and alert as she approach. Despite the fact that he could overpower her, there was something about this woman, who had so easily dismissed him as a machine that made him feel nervous and vulnerable.

She was carrying a suture kit and wore some latex glove. One of Marcus's guards arrived carrying a plastic chair and stool stacked on top of it. She directed him to place them in the middle of the room, directly beneath the light-bulb.

"Can you sit on the stool please?" She asked.

He walked forward and sat on the stool. The chains kept his hands behind his back, pulling at his shoulders, but that was probably how she intended it.

She eased herself down onto the chair with a sigh then looked around for somewhere to put the suture kit.

"Can you get me something to put this on?" The guard went immediately, leaving Marcus alone with her, feeling awkward and exposed.

As they waited, Kate fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair, shift her not inconsiderable weight about.

"When are you due?"

She looked at him a long moment before answering. "About a month."

"I once had a girlfriend who was pregnant. In her third trimester her ankle swelled up like balloons. She was always hot and uncomfortable. I'd take her down to the beach and we'd sit right at the waters edge and let the waves cool her down."

She looked interested. "You had a child?"

He shook his head. "Jen was a meth addict, couldn't give it up for nine months. The baby was still born."

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard."

He blew out a breath. "The start of slippery slope for me. One that ended with me donating my body to science, next thing I know it's fifteen years later and I'm a machine."

"You donated your body to science, were you dying?"

"Yeah." He regretted giving her that opening. He'd already exposed so much in mentioning Jen and the meth, he wasn't yet ready to explain his less that stellar past.

"I'm pretty sure Skynet engineered your heart to be strong and healthy, but if there's something in your DNA that I should know about for John..."

"No, it wasn't anything like that... I ..." He shut his mouth. He wouldn't do himself any favour telling this woman he'd been given a lethal injection for murdering 2 cops, and getting his brother killed in the cross fire.

The guard returned with another stool for her suture tray and she began her work.

"Open his shirt for me."

The guard did as instructed and unbuttoned Marcus's shirt. He could only sit there, straining against his chain feel utterly embarrassed as his taped up chest was revealed.

Kate began picking at the tape, before ripping it off piece by piece, earning sharp inhales and yelps from Marcus, which she ignored.

"The skin's begun to heal." She remarked. Marcus watched her latex-covered fingers rub up and down the edge of the wound. The sensation made his skin crawl, so he looked away.

"I'm not sure you need it but I'll give you a couple of stitches, to help the wound close faster."

She fell silent as she carefully sewed him up.

He remembered getting stitches before, when he was human, but he'd been given a local anaesthetic so hadn't really felt the needle moving in and out of his skin. This time, he'd been offered no painkillers so he felt every minute of it. There was however, little pain but for the first initial pin prick, then his cyborg nervous system kicked in and prevented him from feeling any lasting pain, but the sensation of his heartless chest being sewn up was still deeply disturbing.

He needed a distraction. "How's John doing?"

She halted her work for a moment, considering him, considering her answer. "He's still in recovery. Transplant surgery followed directly a long helicopter ride wasn't the best thing for him, but he'll be fine, if he stays rested."

"And he's not rejecting the heart?"

"No, it's strong, no signs of rejection, but it's still early."

Marcus couldn't help but be impatient for the resistance leader to recover. His existence seemed to depend on the man's expertise with machine. "I hope he recovers soon."

She looked up at him with pursed lips, and he could see the worry and suspicion clearly.

"I guess it would have been simpler if you had died a noble death and we'd buried you and moved on. Instead we're left to consider the security implications, the moral and ethical questions of your existence. Nothing is ever simple in this life. Even this war, it's been so black and white, man against machine, a real survival of the fittest. But the nature of the universe is that there has to be some grey in there, just to present a challenge to the status quo. And that's you, this great big question mark." She finished him off, tossing her the needle in the suture tray and briskly peeling off her latex gloves.

"I'm about to give birth, and my husband is lying in the war-time equivalent of an ICU. I don't have the time or patience for question marks or grey areas. I have to think of worst case scenarios, I have to think about the worst what ifs when it comes to you. That you're this big Trojan horse, waiting for the right moment to kill us all."

"I'm not going to kill you." Marcus protested.

"Not knowingly, I see that now." Her sad blue eyes looked him over again. "We don't know enough about how your machine cortex works. We can't determine your capacity to act as a sleeper agent, and be activated remotely when the opportunity arises."

Marcus hung his head, knowing she was right, wishing he could come up with a way to prove her wrong.

She made her way to the door then stopped. "We heard from Blair, they took heavy fire but they've managed to evacuate the Kansas bunker with minimal casualties. She'll be staying on until they get situated further south. She said to tell you she'll be back in about a weeks."

"Thank you." He nodded, genuinely grateful to hear that she was alright. He'd waited a lifetime to meet someone like Blair, he could manage another week.

* * *

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning:** Swearing, some adult talk.

**Author's note**: Again thanks for kind reviews for chapter 2, they really fuelled me to write more. So, in appreciation, I tried to get another chapter out to you sooner, and hopefully you'll like this even better.

**Disclaimer**: I meant to put this in the first chapter: Terminator does not belong to me. And the phrase 'skin job' may be lifted from BSG, but I'm not sure what claim they hold on it.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Barnes was the strong silent type. When he did speak it was in a soft rumbling bass, always calm, almost laconic. He had a quiet solid presence. So when he came to Marcus's cell noisily dragging a metal chair across the concrete floor, Marcus knew he had a point to make.

"Have you had anything to eat?" Barnes asked slowly, settling himself in the seat, directly facing where Marcus sat against the wall.

Marcus frowned in confusion. Was this concern from the man who had shot his through the chest just for being a machine like the one that killed his brother?

"You eat? You drink?"

"No, thanks."

"I wasn't asking if you wanted to, I'm asking can you? Have you tried?"

Confused again, Marcus shook his head. "Haven't tried. Don't know where it would go." He made a vague gesture at his chest, which as far as he knew didn't contain a digestive tract of any kind, but then he didn't have a heart either yet miraculously he was managing without one.

Barnes, seemed to consider this. "We should see if you can." And with that Marcus began to worry about where this conversation was going.

"What about sleeping? Do you need to sleep?"

"I don't need to, but I think I can."

"You breathe, but I'm guessing you don't need to do that either."

"I guess not." He could only glare at Barnes.

"You bleed, right?"

"Yes, I bleed." Marcus felt his temper rising. "What are all these questions for?"

"I need to know about you." Barnes replied calmly, sitting forward to lean his elbows on his knees. "See, I need to know everything about you, so that when they send the next model at us, we'll know what to look for. "

"The next model?" Marcus couldn't stop the note of incredulity in his voice. "She .. Skynet … it said I was a prototype, the only one."

"I don't buy that. Skynet, being a machine an' all, likes to mass produce. So they gotta have another bunch of skin jobs just like you waiting to kill John Connor. Only they know the Marcus Wright model has been compromised, so they'll slap some other poor fool's hide on your endoskeleton and send it out here with an even better story. So, we gotta be prepared."

Marcus swallowed back the taste of bile in his throat. The thought that there might be copies of him out there filled him with loathing and disgust for what he was.

"You should warn the other resistance cells." He offered, his voice sounding husky over the revulsion he was feeling. "If I was … mass produced … they might send another … another Marcus to a different cell, with a similar mission." He felt his chances of ever escaping this prison cell, slipping away from him by the minute.

"And what exactly was your mission?"

He hung his head, not wanting to look at the other man. "It told me I was programmed to come looking for John Connor and convince him to follow me back to San Francisco, right into their trap."

"And you had no idea you had this programming?" Barnes sounded suspicious.

"No, I'd never heard the name John Connor til I heard him on the radio. I wasn't even coming here until I met Blair and she said he could help me rescue Kyle and Star. I didn't know I was a machine until I ended up here."

Barnes was silent for a while, mulling over Marcus's answers.

"You know how to handle a firearm?"

"Yes."

"Were you military?"

"No. Were you?"

Barnes seemed surprised at the question. "US Marine Corp - Gunnery Sergeant in the 1st Recon Battalion. Just home from my third tour of Afghanistan when all this shit when down."

Marcus waited for him to reach the obvious conclusion as to how else he might have learnt to wield a weapon.

"You've done time?"

"Yes."

"For what?"

Marcus pursed his lips, he knew this was coming but he still wasn't sure whether to lie or just avoid the question. "A job that went wrong." That was all he would give him.

Barnes didn't press him on that, clearly not as interested in Marcus's past as he was in his present.

"So, do you feel pain?"

"Yes." He answered quietly. "But it's not that same. It feels different. There's immediately pain sometimes, but it doesn't last. Some things don't hurt much - like getting shot through the hand, it should have hurt a lot more than it did." He flexed the metal hand in question, remembering his utter shock at the sensation, or lack there of.

"The mines messed you up pretty bad. When they brought you down here there was blood everywhere, and you seemed pretty out of it."

Marcus considered this. He vaguely remembered the part when he was carried in and Kate ripped his shirt open, and then Barnes slamming the butt of a rifle at his head.

"I think it was shock mostly, some pain, where the skin was burnt but trying to heal, I guess."

"Kate says your skin heals fast, do you recover fast from a hit?"

He considered this, only having the fight with the guys at the race track and the fight with the T800 for comparison. He shrugged. "Yeah, pretty fast."

"We'll have to test that," Was Barnes's ominous reply.

"Yeah," Marcus huffed. "I don't piss either, or fart or shit. Don't know if I can ejaculate, don't even fucking know if I can get a hard-on, so Blair could be all yours by the end of the week. But let's put all that to the test while you're at it! I could do with a good cocksucking!" He was standing now, yelling into Barnes' face.

Barnes simply sat watching, waiting for him to finish.

Marcus was panting with all the anger he'd buried inside since he woke up with no heart, and they'd treated him like a traitor and a thing. He paced as much as his restraints would allow and must have seemed like a caged beast to Barnes.

"If you're going to dissect me to learn more about 'my kind' just come right out and say it. If you're playing judge and executioner, at least let me know my sentence, don't make me sit here and wonder! You're supposed to be the human ones!"

"Don't have to be humane to machines."

"I gave him my fucking heart! Doesn't that count for anything?!"

"It does!" Barnes answered sharply, finally showing a little emotion. "It means you're not being melted down. It means we're humouring Blair when she calls up asking how you're doing, or that Reese kid starts asking to spend more time down here." He sighed. "If Connor were around, maybe I wouldn't be asking these questions, 'cause he'd know it already, but I don't and he is not ready to deal you with yet."

Barnes scratched his beard, his knee hopping restlessly on the ball of his foot. It struck Marcus that perhaps the pressure of being John Connor's substitute was getting to Barnes.

"I want to help. I will answer any damn question you throw at me. I'll do any test you want me to do. If it help you understand what's to come, then I will bend over and fucking take it!" He stopped yelling, taking deep breaths. "All I'm asking is to be treated like a hu-…" He stopped, it was a hard thing to admit to himself. "Fine, I'm not human anymore, but I am not a thing or an 'it'. If can contribute like a man, then treat me like a fucking man!"

"I can't." Barnes shook his head emphatically. "I can't do that until we are one hundred percent assured that you are not being controlled by Skynet." He was standing too now.

Marcus leaned back again the wall in defeat. "If you can't prove it, don't keep me here." He whipped his wrist, making the chains rattle. "I should be dead, several times over, but somehow I keep coming back. If you won't let me live like a man then finish me off like a machine!"

Barnes looked away, chewing on his lips, probably having more he wanted to say but instead when he finally gazed back at Marcus he simply nodded.

And Marcus was left alone with his demons and his temper, and the foot wide chunk he kicked out of the wall in anger.

* * *

Star held a certain power over adults. Whether it was old ladies offering her food, or hardened soldiers taking instruction from her, it was no surprise to Marcus that she was able to get his minder to let her into his cell. He just couldn't figure out how she did it without speaking.

He grinned as he listened to the guard talking to her. "You need anything you just stamp your foot on the ground. I'll leave this here door open so I can hear, and if he scares you, you'll be able to run out. Hey, I get it; you're not scared of this guy, are you. You're a tough kid. Survived the Battle of San Francisco, ain't no skin job gonna scare you, am I right?"

She backed into the cell, frowning at the man, as he continued to babble at her like a child. Good to his word the door was left open.

Star padded over to where Marcus was sitting with his back against the wall. He'd been despondent the last few days since his conversation with Barnes. Kyle must have sent her down here to soften him up.

"Hello." He greeted her.

She gave him a shy smile and held out a book for him.

He took it, examining the coloured, though somewhat faded cover. "Dr Seuss, huh. I don't think I remember this one, have you read it?"

She shook her head

"I'm guessing you're a little old for this but then there's probably not a lot of choice up there."

She just stood there, smiling somewhat expectantly.

"Em, do you want me to read it to you?" He offered after a moment of awkward silence.

She nodded and sat down beside him.

He cracked it open and began to read.

"_Oh, The Places You'll Go, by Dr Seuss._

_Congratulations!_

_Today is your day._

_You're of to Great Places!_

_You're off and away!"_

It was several pages later that she climbed up into his lap and did what he could only describe as snuggle.

"Hey, don't get too comfortable. You've got a bed waiting for you upstairs, right?"

She nodded her head against his chest.

"You like her room?" Another nod.

"Maybe when Williams gets back I'll see if she'd let you stay with her from now on?"

She lifted her head to give him a curious frown, then poked a finger at him.

"What? Me? If you're asking about me and Blair, or if I'll be there too, then there's no simple answer for that." He lifted his hand, jangling the chains.

She pouted and turned her head back to the book. He lay a hand on her hair and read on.

Every now and then she would point to a picture or even a word and he would stop and do his best to explain it, not sure if it was the meaning that confused her or his accent. It struck him as strange that she understood so much, but then he didn't really know how old she was or how much she remembered from before Judgement Day.

As he read what seemed an extended greeting card he began to wonder if maybe this wasn't the ideal book to be reading to a kid like Star. Filling her head with ideas about all the things she might see and do seemed cruel, but she needed to be able to dream too, and have the capacity to hope for a better future. However, he knew she wasn't here for the lessons the book might offer. He remembered the comfort of simply being held in an adult's arms feeling safe and cared for. Locked up as he was, holding her was all he had to offer.

She had surprised him on numerous occasions with her ability not only to follow orders, stay calm in combat situations, and have weapons loaded before being asked - lessons he felt sure had been well-taught by Kyle - but she was still possessed of a pure and child-like kindness. Despite his asshole behaviour when they first met, and his threat to desert them in LA, she had not blinked when he they were reunited after San Francisco. She taken his metal hand as though it was any human's and bade him farewell with a soft kiss to his cheek. He worried now that she was imposing on him the image of a father figure - a role for which he felt utterly unsuitable. If it came down to it he would have to seek out an appropriate guardian for the girl. Maybe even convince the Connors to take her in.

_"So . . . ._

_be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray_

_Or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,_

_You're off to Great Places!_

_Today is your day!_

_Your mountain is waiting,_

_So … Go on your way!"_

Once he finished he realised she had fallen asleep. He wondered if he would be able to call the guard without waking her. As it was he couldn't even move his arm, on which her head was resting, in case he woke her.

It was quite a predicament for a supposed killer robot to be trapped by a little girl. He sat there helplessly, until he heard a familiar voice in the corridor.

"Is someone in with him?"

"Captain Williams, Ma'am. Eh, it's eh ..." He imagined the guard standing to attention, and Blair smirking at him.

She poked her head in the door and upon seeing Star asleep in his arms the hardened pilot could only beam.

"Hey." Marcus whispered, the very sight of her wind-tousled black hair, and faint red war paint bringing a broad and happy grin to his face.

The smirk returned as she crept closer. "They got you on babysitting duties already? That's a good sign."

"She was keeping me company." He handed her the book then used his free hand, thankfully the one with skin, to take her hand, and give it an affectionate squeeze.

"I've got great news." Her face lit up with excitement as she whispered. "I found a guy in Kansas who's been doing some research on Skynet CPUs. I brought him back with me to see if he could help us."

"Best news I've heard all day."

She sat beside him and pulled his arm over her shoulders to curl into his side, just as she had done that night in the desert. "I don't blame her for coming down here. You're so warm, I could fall asleep right here."

"Is it ...weird without the heartbeat?"

Though sitting on his other side She pressed her head as close as possible to the newly knitted skin over where his heart had been. "I guess I miss it, but not as much as I missed you when I thought you were gone."

"Blair…" His recent conversation with Barnes weighed heavily on his mind. If her Kansas guy couldn't deliver on the promise of disproving any doubt that he was free from Skynet, then he would have to say his goodbyes to Blair a second time. "Blair if it doesn't work…"

"No, I know it will. This is our guy, I can feel it."

Before he could argue, Star shifted in her sleep. "It was good of you to let this one and Kyle stay in your quarters. I appreciate you looking out for them. I'll get Kyle to find them somewhere else as soon as possible."

She shook her head. "They can stay as long as they like."

"You don't have to do that. You've got your own life. I don't want you to feel obliged to take in these kids because of me."

"I want to. My wingman, Merodi got shot down trying to save these kids, you nearly died trying to save them. I'll look after them now."

"Are you sure?"

"For as long as I can - fighter pilots don't exactly have the longest lifespan." She sat up, facing him. "You need to understand that too. I don't know what it is between us, but as a pilot, in this war, I've accepted that my time on this earth could be short, so I live my life taking each day as it comes. I can't make plans, and I can't make commitments. But as long as I'm around I will look after them, and I will be there for you, too"

Before he could find words to respond to her, she was kissing him, so he kissed back, letting his fingers card through her hair, to touch the hot skin at the back of her neck.

She withdrew eventually, with a grin. "And if I have to break you out of here again, I will."

"Hopefully with a better plan, maybe something that goes further than the jeep?" He teased, earning himself a playing poke in his side, which caused him to jump, which woke up Star.

"Can you take her upstairs?" He whispered.

Blair carefully extracted the sleepy little girl from his arms, giving him another peck on the cheek. "Big day tomorrow." Her eyes lit up with anticipation.

"See you in the morning."

He watched her go, carrying her new charge in her arms. He wished he felt her excitement. Tomorrow could be the day of his release or his death. And he didn't think he'd get to play Lazarus a third time.

* * *

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Marcus had been expecting Blair first thing in the morning, but it was Kyle who entered when the door was swung open. This told him it was some time after breakfast, as Kyle had made a habit of swinging by every morning on his way from the mess hall to the control room where he was picking up some shifts on the comms.

He was chewing on a piece of bread as he shuffled in.

"Today's the big day." He grinned

"Right."

He settled opposite Marcus, sitting cross-legged on the ground as usual. "Blair's been up in the lab with her new techie since dawn. It's pretty exciting, right?"

Marcus sat up, putting his latest book aside. God knows where Kyle was finding them, or how his selection process worked. After finishing Gone with the Wind Marcus had been presented with The Lord of the Rings (two days worth of mind-numbing prose about swords and hobbits), a worn out Jackie Collins novel (probably because he complained about Lord of the Rings) and now he was halfway through a heavy tome on the history of the Boer War which was interspersed with scribbled annotations from someone studying guerrilla warfare.

"Are you nervous?" Kyle asked.

"I just want it to work." It wasn't exactly nervousness that coiled in whatever mechanical equivalent of a gut he possessed – dread perhaps.

"I'm sure it will. This guy she brought back seems to know his stuff."

"You spoke to him?"

"No." He chuckled. "I was up in the control room when Blair was flying back. She radios in and all you can hear in the background is this Scottish guy chattering away about CPUs and cybernetics, and all this stuff about coding. She's telling him to shut and let her fly but he kept asking her these all these technical questions. It was all over the comms. Funny stuff."

"What kind of questions?"

Kyle shrugged. "Em, I don't know stuff about a chip, and interactions and oh, interfacing." He snorted. "Asked her how she _interfaces_ with you. There were some colourful comments from the control team."

Marcus practically growled. "I'm so glad to be a source of amusement to the control team."

Kyle seemed to realise he'd hit a sore spot. "Sorry, I didn't …"

"I don't like Blair getting laughed at because of me." Marcus stewed for a moment.

"Look man, she's pretty tough, she can handle it, and let me tell you she can give as good as she gets."

When Marcus didn't respond he blurted out, "She's a hottie fighter pilot, they hear anyone talking to her and the comms guy's turn it into sex talk." He shrugged again, blushing helplessly.

"Look, I should go, my shift is starting soon. I just wanted to say good luck or something. I hope … I hope I'll see you upstairs later."

He let Kyle go, wishing he hadn't acted like such a grumpy shit to the boy, but it was a sore point. He was certain Blair had faced some serious consequences for helping him escape before but now, even if he did get Connor's sanction to move about freely, she faced being ostracised by the rest of her resistance cell for associating with a machine, and he could imagine the 'colourful comments' she'd be faced with.

Surviving, however he'd managed it, had made him a complication in Blair's life. Between being a machine, with so many unknowns attached, and landing her with Star and Kyle, he wondered if she would begin to regret having met him, or if it might be for the best if they didn't get involved.

The fact remained that he and Blair could cuddle in his cell all they liked but he had no idea if they'd ever get the opportunity to be together properly, or if he was even capable of it. His fate was in the hands some nosy technologist, and there was nothing he could do but wait.

* * *

Blair arrived in his cell some hours after Kyle had left followed by a small contingent of heavily armed soldiers and one nervous looking medic wheeling a gurney.

"We're going to bring you up to the tech lab to do a full body scan and Goodwin will run his diagnostic." Blair explained. "But Barnes wants you restrained and sedated the whole time you're out of this cell." She added the last part with evident disappointment.

"Goodwin?"

"My Skynet expert. He's Scottish, a little strange, likes to talk a _**lot**_."

Not having much of choice, Marcus passively allowed them switched his long chains from the pipes to short chains to the gurney. Once he was lying down they added tight reinforced straps to his arms and across his chest, inducing flashbacks from the execution room.

The medic was visibly sweating as he approached Marcus to perform his end of the procedure. With disturbingly shaky hands he inserted an IV port into Marcus's elbow.

"Hey," Marcus gravelled. "Just pretend I'm human, it works the same."

The medic swallowed and went about injecting the sedative.

Blair placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a supportive squeeze as he began to feel the drug take effect.

They wheeled him out of the cell and down a long corridor. He saw only the passing white light and he sank into a white haze of clouded movement and muffled sound.

He was lost in this fog for some time, the motion had stopped and there were voices around - some he thought he knew, and some he didn't. They were speaking at length but the words were beyond his sedated comprehension.

It took him a while to realise that were scanning him. A large blurry shape was moving slowly over his body, a strange green light glowing over him.

Once it was finished there was more talking, Marcus closed his eyes and let himself drift off.

He sobered briefly enough to shout as something was inserted into the back of his head and his skull was strapped to the side, chin nearly touching his shoulder. He panted, feeling intensely claustrophobic. His arms and legs strained against the bonds, instinctively wanting to fight against the invasive attack.

Blair appeared in his eye line, touching his face with feather-light fingers. "Hey, it's ok, calm down."

"Up the dosage." Someone else said.

"Nuh," He grunted trying desperately to coordinate himself, but couldn't stop the panicked tremors as whatever had been insert into the back of his head activated, and establish a painfully confusing link with another system.

Tears began welling in his eyes as his mind was poked and prodded by what felt like a blunt implement. Whereas Skynet's sync had been a smooth if overwhelming stream of data, this was nonsensical and deeply intrusive, not helped by the fact that his mind was sluggish under liquid sedation and couldn't form a coherent response.

"Marcus," Blair again, speaking to him through the chaotic flood. "Marcus, focus on my voice."

He met her eyes blearily. It helped. As he concentrate on her face, and tried to hear only her words the invasion melted into the background, though leaving him with a throbbing headache.

"It's ok, he's just running a diagnostic. Everything's alright."

Some of what Blair was saying washed over him, but he took comfort in the sound of her voice, and seeing her face. He lost track of time as the tide of the further sedation rolled softly over him, heavy for a while though subsiding now and then leaving him gasping and sweating at the wrongness of some other presence digging around in his mind.

All of sudden he was out – blackness, nothingness - and when he came to Blair had a tearful and shocked expression on her face. The sedative seemed to have washed away, leaving him coherent though confused.

"What was that? What happened?" He was finally able to ask with clarity.

"Well, that establishes that he can be safely switched off."

The words chilled him, but as he listened the unknown but accented voice went on at length, and this time he was able to focus on what was being said.

The voice, which Marcus could only assume belonged to this Scottish guy, Goodwin, spoke quickly, warming to his topic. "Well, I'm not seeing any default functions or secondary protocols activating, status is normal, no external signals being activated, no significant differences to the operation of either cortex. Brainwaves are level, though interestingly the restart does seem to have flushed out the sedative and returned chemical levels to what could be considered steady state. The base code is unchanged, some of the self-protection coding, those which activated when I initiated the interface, are still active as you can see here."

Blair had her eyes glued to whatever Goodwin was pointing at. Marcus strapped down as he was, could only watched her expression for reaction, and her thoughtful frown was all he got.

"As I mentioned it's Skynet technology trying to push out the unauthorised access. My guess would be that this portion of the base code translates into the human cortex as instruction to fight off whatever's trying to damage the model, or in this case access it's machine cortex."

Goodwin stopped for a thoughtful pause. "I'm not sure what more I can do. I've disabled any possible means of wireless communication or interfacing, so he's as detached from Skynet as I can get him."

"So he could communicate with them before now." Barnes, rumbling someone where behind him.

"It was possible, and unless you plan on cutting out his tongue he's still capable of talking to Skynet if he really wanted. But that's the key isn't it, does he want to? Is there anything in that human brain, with its human memories and thought processes that would make him want to? Aside from being chained up like criminal, that is." Marcus heard tapping, and imagined someone tapping on an image of his fleshy human cortex.

"What about these base codes in the machine cortex?" He recognised Kate Connor's voice, clearly unimpressed with the last part of Goodwin's speech.

"Well," Here Goodwin paused, frustratingly. "The base codes have more to do with operating the endoskeleton, there are behavioural codes and I'd hypothesise that these are instructions that translate to human behavioural impulses, or maybe instincts."

There was silence in the room. Marcus just lay there, taking deep breaths, wondering what they might say next.

He heard whispering and noticed Blair was watching some interplay happening beyond him, chewing nervously on her lip.

"What's going on?" He asked her quietly.

She whispered back. "John's asking to go over data with Goodwin. Kate's arguing."

"Connor's here?"

"No, but he's been listening through the comms."

"..Stubborn Jackass!" Kate Connor's voice rang around the otherwise solemn lab, and then there was the sound of people leaving.

"Hey!" Blair called out. "Can I at least take the jack out his head now?"

Goodwin's voice rang down a corridor. "Oh sure, go for it."

"Sorry about this." Blair moved behind him, out of his sight, and he felt a wrenching as something was slowly slid out of the back of his skull. He couldn't help the stifled sob at the sensation.

She then removed the strap from his forehead, and he stretched his neck, relieved to have that small freedom back. He was now able to look around the lab and take in what he had been previously too stoned to acknowledge. As he'd pictured there were monitors lit up behind him with a variety of images of his brain, his body and the various mechanical parts of him referred to by others as his endoskeleton.

"I didn't realise that would be so hard on you." Blair dragged a stool over to sit on his other side.

"Neither did I." He could still feel a throb of a headache building behind his eyes.

"He said it was your base code reacting to non-Skynet technology."

"Whatever that means."

"That your base code tells you to react in a human way to interference with your machine parts. What you think are instinctive reactions are just coded programming."

"What are you saying?"

She frowned. "I'm just telling you what he said."

"No, you're saying that the way I react to anything is just programming. So I'm just programmed to get pissed off every time someone treats me like some fucking computer?"

She didn't answer.

"What am I supposed to do if I can't even trust my reactions to be my own?!"

"I - I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"I can't take this second guessing anymore. Especially not from you." He turned his head away from her, feeling frustrating helpless, tied up as he was.

"Marcus, please."

"I'm sick of being chained up like a rabid dog, I'm no good to anyone ... you should just put me down."

"No! Don't talk like that."

"Why? Having me around, it just complicates things."

"Shut up!"

He turned away from her so she grabbed his chin, directing him to look at her.

"Stop this, stop thinking like. I'm sorry I said that, it's hard not to get caught up in the technology of all this. And I know it's been hard for you being locked up in the basement. But you cannot be giving up already!"

"And if they cut out my tongue to stop me from talking to Skynet?!"

"I'd never let that happen."

"Blair …"

She starting picking at the fastening of the strap across his chest, in seconds she had released him. She then made quick work of the other straps, leaving only the chains.

"Williams …" One of the guards began but she cut him off.

"He's still restrained." She gave them a level but withering gaze and they seemed to relent, which struck Marcus as odd given that he still hadn't been given the nod by Connor.

"Sit up."

He did as ordered and was able to sit up, but not much more, with his hands chained at the wrists and his ankles chained to the end of the gurney.

She leaned her hip against the gurney, looking up at him. She placed her hand over his. Perhaps she'd given up on words. He had too. He had given up talking to them, given up trying to convince them that he wasn't their enemy. He felt helpless and worthless and doomed. He could picture Connor picking over whatever data Goodwin was showing him. Code, that's all it came down to. He wasn't a person, he wasn't a man, he was just a collection of code and flesh covered metal. And he was no longer so invincible. That they could so easily turn him on and off like a lightswitch was chilling. But there was still a part of him that wanted that oblivion back - that had wanted it since he sat in Longview feeling worthless and ready to die.

"You should go, get some sleep."

"How could I sleep?"

"Star's probably wondering where you are."

"She'll be wondering where you are too."

"Just go Blair."

"Marcus.."

"Go."

She looked ready for a fight but after a huffed sigh she went. And he was glad that she did otherwise he might have been forced to say something he didn't mean just to get her to leave.

He lay back down and stared at the ceiling, ready for Connor to pass his final judgement. He didn't have long to wait before he was summoned.

"Connor wants to see him."

* * *

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I meant to put a warning at the start of Chapter 4 about the OC with the excessively jargon-filled speech. I wasn't terribly happy with how it came out but I hope he wasn't too annoying. There's some more of him here but not too much, I promise.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

It was a small but welcome dignity for Marcus to be allowed to walk to his audience with Connor. Wrist and ankles still chained, surrounded by his four man escort, he was yet again reminded of his time in prison, walking down the institutional corridors of Longview to his execution. But he was still glad to be able to stand when he faced Connor rather than being tied to a gurney like a lab experiment or chained to the wall like a wild animal.

As he moved through the dimly-lit hallways with the practiced shuffle of someone who'd worn ankle chains before, he was relieved to find there was no one around. Whether because of the late hour or as a result of an order from someone to clear the area, it was a blessing not to have to deal with onlookers just yet.

Kate Connor was waiting for them when they reached their destination. She gave Marcus an icy glare. "You have 10 minutes with him. If you go even a second over, if I hear voices raised so much as a decibel over conversational tone, or if that heart monitor goes even a beat faster, believe me when I say that I will make sure you are anatomically incapable of even the most platonic relationship with Blair Williams."

"Understood." He answered, imagining this woman was more than capable of delivering on that threat – especially where her husband was involved.

He entered a softly lit room that had been set up as a private infirmary for the sole use of the Resistance Commander as he recovered. Circled around a hospital bed was the paraphernalia of an intensive care unit – life support equipment standing at the ready, an IV drip hanging from a stand at the bedside, a worktop covered with a catalogue of medicines, gauze and bandages, and medical monitors giving constant readings on the patient's vital signs.

A haggard-looking John Connor was sitting propped up in the bed with a laptop in front of him. A bald-headed man with dark rimmed glasses sat at his bedside. As Marcus entered they both looked up at him. He could see the fatigue and weakness in Connor's scarred face. Where once he'd been wiry and intense he was now faded and fragile. His skin was almost grey and the bags under his eyes belied the fact that he needed rest immediately. Aside from the rebar through the chest he'd also taken quite a beating form the T800, and the evidence was written all over his bruised and bandaged chest. His arm was immobilised against his body in a sling.

"10 minutes, John. Then I get the sedative out." Kate told them sharply.

Once she had closed the door Connor pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering what sounded like 'Fuck's sake,' under his breath.

Marcus might have sympathised if he wasn't standing there in chains waiting to be told if he would live or die.

He hadn't laid eyes on John Connor since he'd seen them loading his unconscious form onto a helicopter after the operation. That had been only a week ago, a week he'd spent sitting in a cell, trying not to think about his future. From what little he'd been able to glean from Kyle, Connor had spent that same week in and out of consciousness as he recovered from the surgery. Access to him had been well-guarded by his wife, and no issues were to be brought to him unless she okayed them. So far she had allowed none through his door – until this evening.

Connor was staring up at him. "I didn't think I'd see you again."

Marcus wondered at the toneless words. It was hard to tell whether the man was glad to see him again or bothered at having to deal with him.

Connor's eye travelled over his chained hands and ankles. He turned to his companion. "Get the guards in here."

Marcus tensed. So this was it. This was where he would be finished, ended, switched off. He swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth, presumably some base code was telling him to feel sick at the thought of being turned off.

As the four guards entered, Marcus found his voice. "Before you do this, I just want you to know that ..." He struggled to find the words now, as though they all wanted to come at once and be heard before he was silenced forever.

"I've been faced with my imminent death more often than I'd like, but each time I've been brought right back. If this is really the end this time I want your assurance that I won't be coming back in any form. If I can't be me, if I can't be in control of my self, if I can't even trust that my decisions are my own and not some fucking programming… I don't want to be brought back for any reason!"

He struggled to control his breathing, feeling a cold fury burning in his chest now that he'd been able to release what had been chewing him up from the inside all this time. "And you tell Blair ... you tell her..."

He stopped there, not sure what last words he should leave her. She would be angry with him for not saying goodbye, for telling her to leave when he did, but he didn't want to hurt her and he didn't want to have to go through the emotional goodbye a second time. She was better off without him anyway.

"You tell her to move on and find someone else."

Connor's reply was slow and weary. "What are you talking about?" He was rubbing his head again, he looked at the guards. "Which one of you has the keys?"

One of them raised a set of keys in his hand.

"Get those chains off of him." Connor croaked.

Marcus stood in wordless shock

"I'm not turning you off, if that what you think."

"But you … you did, you were testing it earlier." He looked at the other guy, Goodwin he guessed.

"I don't believe you're still connected to Skynet, but Kate wouldn't drop it, so we needed to be sure."

Connor's men left the room taking the hated chains with them and Marcus was left standing in the centre of the room, stunned into silence.

The bald guy took the laptop from Connor's bed, snapping it shut and approached Marcus with care. "I just wanted to say," he began in his heavily accented voice. "You probably think I'm a complete arsehole. Most people do, especially when I go on about cybernetic like that. I don't care if it's just programming, I know that was an invasive procedure and I'm really sorry you had to go through it. Connor tells me you didn't know you were a machine so there's probably quite a lot about yourself you don't know. If you have any questions, come and ask me, I'll be happy to help."

Marcus wanted to hate the guy who'd stuck a jack in his the back of his skull and put him through that torture. Goodwin was so earnest in his apologies Marcus felt himself soften towards the Scot, helped in no small part by the fact that instead of looking the part of an uncaring scientist in lab coat and slacks, he wore jeans and a faded Motorhead t-shirt.

When Marcus didn't answer, Goodwin bit his lip looked back at Connor. "I'll leave you to it."

He wandered off leaving Marcus alone with John for the first time since he'd carried him out of the Terminator factory.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the soft but jumpy beat of the heart monitor. Marcus wondered if it wasn't a little faster than it ought to be.

"You were ready to die again." Connor's voice was soft and rough. "Is the death wish new, or were you like this as a human?"

Marcus ignored the question, there was no simple answer to that. "I thought he said … I had programming that ..." He wasn't entirely sure what it had meant, he only thought of Blair's word about instincts being no more than code.

"Self protection, and an inability to self-terminate. Standard issue for any Skynet model, I've seen it before," Was Connor's casual response.

"So does that mean …"

Connor had closed his eyes and was wiping sweat from his pale brow with a visibly trembling hand.

"Are you alright? Do you want me to get Kate?"

"Get the basin," he ground out, holding a hand against his mouth.

Marcus fetched a basin from a nearby worktop, and made it to John's side just in time for the Leader of the Human Resistance to hurl into it.

"Ugh." John curled away from it once he was done heaving, pressing a shaky hand over his eyes.

"I'll get Kate." Marcus went for the door, not sure what to do with the basin of vomit.

"No." John's plaintive rasp made him pause. "I'm ok, it's just the meds. She'll only fuss."

"She's right to fuss. You look like death warmed up."

"Gee, thanks."

"Fuck that!" Marcus hissed quietly, remembering Kate's threat. "If you don't rest, you'll reject the heart and it will all have been for nothing and we'll all be fucked."

"You think I don't know that? You think I've forgotten what you sacrificed for me?!"

Marcus backed off, not wanting to get the other man worked up. In the far corner of the room he found a small washroom, and flushed the contents of the basin down the toilet. He rinsed his hands in the sink, disturbed at the sensation of running water over his metal hand, before returning to Connor, who was slowly uncurling himself.

"The meds are making you sick?"

Connor nodded. "Pre-judgement day, I'd have a lifetime of immunosuppressive drugs and their wonderful side effects to look forward to. I think we have enough for about 2 months."

"She said the heart was stronger than normal. You'll just have to be too."

"I'll be lucky if I ever get mission fit again."

Marcus scoffed. "Kyle said you're moving up in the world, taking over from the leadership. If that's the case surely there won't be anymore missions, you'll be running things from afar."

Connor's glare was half hearted, and Marcus got the impression he wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of staying behind, but was grudgingly resigned to his fate.

"You were so accepting last time," Connor pointed out. "You lay down and let her cut you open so easily. But now you're raging inside. What's changed since then?"

Marcus hesitated but then sat in the seat Goodwin had vacated at Connor's bedside. "It was my choice before - my chance to redeem myself. This time, it felt like it was just … a punishment, a death sentence for being … for being made this way."

"I'm trusting you to stick around and help us win this war. But there'll be others who won't feel so charitable."

"Then why keep me around, if I'm only going to rile your men?"

John had a faraway look in his eyes as he spoke. "I'll need to re-programme a T800 and figure out how to send it back in time."

"What?" Marcus wondered if the meds were making his high as well. "Why would do that?"

"It's not important." He lied. "But I believe that you are the first step towards achieving that goal."

Connor levelled him with a directly gaze that left no illusion as to the clarity of his mind. "If it weren't for you, Blair wouldn't have gone looking for someone like Goodwin. Goodwin's knowledge and expertise will be of crucial importance to me. So if it weren't for you I might never have found him. The same goes for Kyle Reese, I could have spent years searching for him if you hadn't come along."

"And you might still have your own heart if it weren't for me luring you into Skynet."

Connor didn't respond, but his eyelids were beginning to droop.

"I should go," Marcus stood. "My time's up and your wife will have my robot balls for breakfast if she thinks I wore you out."

Connor gave an uncharacteristic snort of laughter then groaned rubbing his chest. "Wait, there's one more thing I need to say."

Marcus paused.

"Blair is one of my best pilots, but if she's distracted she'll get herself killed. I don't… What you and she do is … it's none of my business … but she already took a bullet in the leg for you, I don't want her getting hurt is all."

"Neither do I." Marcus protested.

"Just keep it discreet."

Marcus nodded.

Connor gave a responding nod, before his eyelids began to droop again, and he finally succumbed to sleep.

Marcus quietly opened the door and stepped outside.

Kate was sitting in a chair facing the door. For a woman as heavily pregnant as she was, she leapt up with surprising speed on seeing Marcus.

"He's asleep." He told her.

She took a breath of relief. "Johnson and Delaney here are going to be assigned to you for the time being. I know John trusts you but this is for your own safety as much as everyone else's.

"Tomorrow morning Barnes will meet you and discuss how you can be of help to him while John's recovering."

She was about to walk into her husband's room when Marcus spoke.

"But where should I ..?"

Kate rolled her eyes then told the guard, "Just take to Captain Williams' quarters."

* * *

Blair had been lying awake in her bed, one arm draped protectively around Star, when she was startled by someone knocking on the door.

Despite her exhaustion she hadn't been able to sleep, as her last conversation with Marcus played in her head over and over. She shouldn't have left, she should have put up more of fight, arguing it out with him, and convinced him that her faith in him was not diminished. In her heart she knew he was a good man, a genuine soul in the body of a machine. But sometimes, as she had told him, it was hard not to get caught up in the cold hard facts of Skynet's devious tactics.

She'd been fighting the machines for too long to disregard everything she knew about them. But each time she thought of Marcus, of his eagerness to find the kids who'd been taken on the transporter, his bravery in fighting off the men at the racetrack, of his own horror at discovering what he was, and the ultimate sacrifice he'd made in giving up his own heart, she remembered what she had told Kate, she _knew _he wasn't the enemy.

Unfortunately the memory of that conversation brought back the edict that Kate had coldly passed on that occasion - 'Disassembled.' She couldn't bear to think that that might be his fate. If that was Connor's verdict how would she go on knowing her commander had so callously destroyed a man? The thought had brought frightened tears to her eyes, but she quickly swiped them away, hoping neither Kyle nor Star would notice.

She swore on hearing the knocking, fumbled with the light and climbed over Star.

Kyle, who'd been sleeping on a cot in the corner was up and alert in second, his hands instinctively reaching for a weapon.

"Who is it?" She called.

"It's Marcus," Came the response.

She quickly swung the door open and there he was, unchained, unfettered, though two armed guards lingered nearly.

"You're alright."

"Yeah." He gave a half smile, "I'm alright."

She rushed to wrap her arms around him, as if he might be pulled away from her at any minute.

"He let you go?"

"Yes." He murmured into her neck. "Can I come in?" The soft gravel of his voice made her heart leap in her chest.

"Sure." She pulled back and looked at the two guards.

"Kate wants them to hang around for a while." He told her, somewhat embarrassed.

She didn't care about the guards. Kate was in ultra cautious mode at the moment as a result of her husband's condition, but Kate's issues with Marcus could wait.

She pulled him inside to where Kyle and Star were both standing, wide awake and eager to welcome their friend.

Marcus seemed to grow suddenly awkward in their presence. "I'm sorry, you were sleeping, I shouldn't have woken you."

Kyle frowned, then suddenly began to blush. "Eh… maybe I should take Star up to the mess hall or something, leave you two…"

"No," Marcus was quick to stop him. "That's ok, just go back to bed, I'll go..."

"Don't you dare." Blair couldn't believe his awkwardness, but then remembered their night together in the desert and the similar reticence he'd shown then.

She looked down at Star. "Do you think we could make room in the bed for Marcus? Or should we make him share with Kyle?"

Star smiled, clearly seeing where Blair was going with this. She seemed to think about it then nodded emphatically then moved to take Kyle's hand and drag him over to his cot.

"Well that's settled then." She looked to Marcus, daring him to decline the invitation. "You probably don't need to sleep but maybe you could just keep me warm?"

"Sure." He responded coolly, clearly aware that he was being managed by these girls.

"It's good to see you upstairs." Kyle told him with a smirk, before tucking Star in and climbing in beside her.

Marcus let himself be directed into Blair's bed so that his back was to the wall and she could spoon up against his chest, pulling his arm around her.

Once she had switched off the light, he pressed his nose into her hair, relishing the scent he had thought he'd never get to enjoy again.

"I'm sorry, about before." He whispered.

She turned her head, looking over her shoulder at him. "I'm sorry too."

"Can't promise never to fight, but I'll try not to push you away again." He told her slowly, and it was more than she would have expected him to say.

She pulled his arms tighter around her. It felt heavenly to have him so close, so warm and comforting around her. As she drifted off, Blair realised this was probably the happiest and safest she'd been since before the war, before Judgement Day, and she felt like the luckiest woman alive to have been given even a moment more of that feeling.

* * *

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Apologies for the delay in getting this out. A combination of moving house, dying hard drive and lack of broadband could be blamed but it was not helped by the fact that I wasn't sure where to take this after the previous chapter, which maybe should have been the end, but this is, I suppose, a means of rounding things out – as laboured as that sometimes may seem.

I'd like to thank everyone who left a review. It's a simple thing to do but it's powerful in the way it encourages a hack like me to keep writing, so this ridiculously long finale is dedicated to all those thoughtful people.

Warning – Strong Language and scenes of a sexual nature

* * *

Chapter 6

If Marcus had been the optimistic type he might have let himself believe that John Connor's benediction would be the end of his troubles, that it would allow him to settle comfortably into a life with Blair at his side, and find a place among Connor's followers where he could put his advanced abilities to good use.

But Marcus was a pragmatist and a realist. He knew that regardless of the weight of John Connor's word these people had been fighting the machines for years and weren't going to be happy to have one walking amongst them, so he made it his business to keep a low profile.

When Barnes, who clearly had no idea what to do with him, assigned him some manual labour - brick-laying and heavy lifting – he was relieved to find he was working in unpopulated areas of the base. He went about his day with little or no interaction with the rest of the resistance, leaving Blair's quarters early, returning late.

After the first week of this Star took it upon herself to seek him out and keep him company until he sent her away. He found himself in this ridiculously domestic routine of working, looking after Star, keeping an eye on Kyle, and oddly, he was beginning to like it.

But he knew it was a fleeting peace. Sooner or later, when the dust of San Francisco settled or when Connor was back on his feet, someone was sure to start looking closer at their living situation and decide that he wasn't the ideal candidate to play surrogate father to a mute little girl and a teenager. Not only for the fact that he was a machine, but someone was sure to find out he'd been a criminal and a murderer in his previous life.

Thoughts like these kept him up at night when Blair had fallen asleep and Kyle was snoring softly in his cot with Star at his side. Though Marcus found he was capable of sleep, he never felt he needed it. He would simply close his eyes and let his mind wander. His breathing would slow, his body slacken and he would drift off in much the same way as a human would. He just needed to get his mind to switch off. More often he would lie awake, spooning against Blair as he had every night since she first welcomed him into her bed.

It had been awkward between them. Their feelings for each other were undeniably strong but Marcus still felt bad for having imposed so much on her, almost forcing her into looking after Star and Kyle and taking up half her small bed.

Also, there had been little time for them to spend together. Almost immediately Connor had tasked Blair with training up new pilots. She spent long hours of the day at this and would arrive back to her quarter utterly exhausted, able for little more than lying down with him, whispering to him about her day until she succumbed to sleep.

With Kyle and Star sleeping not more than a few feet away there wasn't much opportunity for them to go much further than heavy petting but even at that Marcus had waited for her to initiate it.

When they curled up together she was the one to pull his arm around her. And once the lights were out and the kids asleep, she was the one to drag his hand under her vest to cup her breast, encouraging him to tease her nipples.

It wasn't until his second week with her that he was able to confirm his anatomy was fully functional. He hadn't worked up the courage to go to Kate Connor or that techie, Goodwin and ask them pertinent questions about his anatomy. He probably could have tested his ability to produce sperm, but he hadn't had really thought of doing it until his was pressed up against Blair, quietly caressing and stroking her. She moved her ass against his groin and his breath caught at the sensation of blood pumping into the one appendage that hadn't seen much use since he was human.

He bit down on her shoulder to stifle his groan.

"Ow! Watch it." She chided him, ceasing her movement to rub her shoulder.

"Shit, sorry."

They froze as Kyle mumbled loudly in his sleep. Marcus rubbed the spot where he'd bit, relieved to find the skin was not broken. He kissed it gently.

"Sorry, just surprised me."

"Surprised by what?"

"Nothing." He sighed, not really wanting to tell her but at the same time so pleased he felt like sharing. "Just ... just glad that Skynet didn't take away all my human parts."

She peered at him over her shoulder, grinning wickedly. "You mean this part?" She cupped her hand against his crotch. Earning a choked laughed from him. He felt like a teenager again. "Unghh."

"Careful, you'll wake them."

He grabbed her wrist and gently eased her hand away, however reluctantly. "Then you better stop or I won't be able to."

She took her hand away and wriggled around to face him. "You're surprised you can get it up?" Her tone was thoughtful and a little sad.

"I wasn't sure."

Blair turned her large brown eyes on him. "You wouldn't have been much of an infiltrator if you couldn't fuck your way into the inner circle."

He stiffened, somewhat offended by her offhand comment. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"No! But I guess you were built to be able to if the situation called for it. They just didn't figure on you being a gentleman." She grinned

"I've been called a lot of things, never a gentleman." He scoffed.

"Someday you'll have to start believing that you're not a bad guy." She took her face in her long fingers, kissing him gently. "Skynet made your super hot body; they didn't make the man inside it."

He sniggered into her mouth, kissing deeply, feeling the heat down below become more insistent.

She brought her lips to his ear. "I'm sure Kate would take them for a night if I asked her."

"Yeah?" He couldn't help the excitement that bubbled up inside him at the thought of getting her alone for a night.

"I'll ask her in the morning."

"Can't you ask her now?"

"What?"

He sighed. "I'm kidding, go to sleep." Only half kidding.

* * *

Marcus was trying his hand at plumbing. His plumbing experience consisted of a few odd jobs around his old apartment, but fixing up a military-grade water heater for a shower-room with twenty stalls required a little more than tightening the pipes under the sink or fixing a cistern.

Luckily the Resistance had computers that told him everything he needed to know. He was still amazed at the wealth of information they had available to them. Barnes had done a double take when Marcus said he'd never really used the internet but thankfully hadn't pressed him for an explanation.

He studied the maintenance instructions for a few minutes and was somewhat disturbed to find that he didn't need to refer back to them once. All his life Marcus had been reasonably smart, good with electronics and quick thinking but he had never considered himself terribly adapt at learning by rote, so this was evidently a Skynet upgrade.

This discovery left him in a bad temper as he set to work. He pulled a thick work glove over his metal hand, happy to hide that most obvious reminder. He fumed silently in the boiler room, trying to ignore the synthetic sweat that drenched his hairline and dripped down his back. Even with the door open to release some of the steam, it was uncomfortable but not impossible conditions to work in. He had been frowning down at the heater's connection circuits, when he felt something pull at his pant leg.

Star looked up at him with her bright brown eyes and his immediate impulse was to shoo her away as he was in too foul a mood to humour her. He opened his mouth, a curse on his lips, and then recalled the way she'd looked at him when he'd cut his arm on a live wire while fixing the jeep back at Griffith Observatory. He still felt incredibly guilty that he'd been ready to abandon her and Kyle in LA, so anytime he felt the impulse to be cruel he remembered what he nearly did and held his tongue.

"Hey, Star." He gave her a tired smile.

She had that weird pointed expression on her face, and when she reached out he saw she was handing him a phase test screwdriver.

There hadn't exactly been time to consider Star's uncanny ability to know when machines were approaching or to what to hand him when they were under attack but as she held out this tool she couldn't possibly have known he would need to check the circuitry, he began to wonder.

He stopped his work regarding her adorably innocent face. He took the screwdriver, turning it slowly in his hands. "You knew I'd need this before I did."

She nodded seriously.

"How did you know that?"

She seemed to consider it for a moment then shrugged, turning away as though disinterested.

"Hey," He kept his tone gentle, not wanting to upset her. "Help me out here?"

She smirked as though he'd asked something silly.

"Can you read my mind?" In some respect Marcus felt like a fool for even asking but waking up as a machine in a dystopian future made he more than a little open to unreal possibilities.

She gazed at him for a moment, blinking owlishly and he had the distinct impression that she was trying to see if she could read his mind.

After a while she frowned and slowly shook her head with a certain chagrin, perhaps embarrassed at herself for thinking she might be able to read his mind.

"But you know when something's going to happen before it does?"

She mulled it over and then nodded stiffly.

His life was becoming more and more like a science fiction movie.

Star was still looking up at him expectantly and maybe she wanted some answer from him too.

"You know what they call that? Clairvoyant." He told her conversationally, picking up the screw driver to test the fuses. "So maybe you can warn me if a wire is going to blow **before** it hit me?"

She smiled, shrugging playfully.

"Is that a maybe? You'd really let me take a shock?"

She shrugged again, grinning cheekily. He'd seen Blair wear a similar expression - these women obviously learnt their tricks young.

He gave her a gentle poke in her ticklish side. "Come on, Star, you wouldn't do that to me?!" He mock-pleaded. "Who'd teach you about electronics if I wasn't around?"

She simply poked him back.

* * *

Marcus didn't want to push Star about her unique ability but it stayed at the back of his mind for a while, as he tried to figure out what they might be able to do to explore her clairvoyance without drawing too much attention to it.

As it was he made sure to pay attention to her and look for signs that might help him understand her ability.

So when she appeared one afternoon holding her hand out, he took it and let her lead him through the base without question.

They arrived upstairs in the control room to a cacophony of voices, where a group of people wearing headsets around their necks were yelling at each other and several echoing voices were yelling through the radios speakers. Marcus recognised the comms team Kyle worked with, a group of slightly gangly, wild-eyed men who rarely saw the light of day as they perform the role of air traffic controllers and telephonists for the resistance. When they noticed Marcus and Star lingering at the entrance the voices of those present died off dramatically.

"What's he doing here?" Someone asked indignantly.

Star tugged his hand. At first he thought she'd simply wanted to take him to visit Kyle and seeing what they'd arrived to he began to back away.

"Come on, Star. Kyle's a little busy right now."

She tugged insistently, and stamped her foot.

"No, Star." He was surprised at her uncharacteristically stroppy behaviour.

"What is that thing doing here?!" One of the slightly taller members of comms team demanded.

"Jefferson!" Another hissed an unconvincing repremand.

Marcus had heard worse but it still bothered him to be referred to as a thing. It always would.

He noticed Kyle standing, his face a little red. "Marcus, maybe you can help us?"

Star dragged him over.

"What's wrong?" He asked, casting a hesitant glance over at the other comms people.

"The radios aren't working properly. We can't get the mics to work."

"Isn't there someone who can fix them?"

"No, dumbass." The one called Jefferson sneered. "There's no tech support to call and yes, we tried switching it on and off." The other's sniggered but Marcus didn't get the joke.

"Come on, man. You fixed the other radio so we could hear John Connor..." Kyle was bright-eyed and hopeful as he led him over to a control panel that had been open to expose the circuitry within.

"Fine." Marcus grumbled but took a look. "It's probably the receiver's fried."

He poked about with the wiring, hiding his proud smile whenever Star produced the correct screwdriver or pliers from her pouch. "Like magic." He muttered, sharing a knowing look with her.

This was going to be the day he managed to stun the comms team into uncharacteristic silence.

"Try it now." He told Kyle.

Kyle put his headset back on and activated his mic.

"This Control Tower 1, does anyone read me."

The radios were flooded with relieved and impatient affirmatives.

Marcus singled out Blair's slightly cooler tone among the other more colourful comments that were barking across the radio.

"Control one, this is Hickabick. Reese, you wanna tell me the really good explanation for twenty minutes of unplanned radio silence?"

Kyle bit back a grin. "Copy that, Hickabick, we had some technical difficulty. Our receiver was fried, but Marcus fixed it, so we're back to normal status."

Marcus cringed. Did he really need to announce that over an open comm line?

"It stands to reason he'd be good with machines given that he is one."

This time he wasn't going to let it lie. He rounded on Jefferson pointing a finger in his face. "Fuck you! I was working electronics long before Skynet was invented - before you were even born!" He growled. He didn't voice the shame he felt at having put that one talent to waste on disabling alarm systems and close circuit cameras.

"Back the fuck up, machine." One of the others had produced a handgun and was aiming it steadily at Marcus's head.

Marcus raised his hands, glaring hotly at these assholes whose system he'd just fixed.

"Whoa, guys!" Kyle leapt up between then, standing protectively in front of Marcus. "He's not the enemy. He just fixed the comms for us!"

But Marcus didn't want protecting, and let his temper get the better of him. "Take your shot, tough guy. See who does tech support for you then?" He stepped forward pressing his forehead against the barrel, eyes blazing, itching to use his inhuman speed to swipe the gun out of this little shit's hands.

"You want me to shoot you?! You fucked-up skin-job!" The guy gave a nervous laugh and the minute his eyes moved to look at his colleague Marcus grabbed the barrel and yanked it out of his grasp. Before anyone could react he had unloaded the clip and disassembled the gun, letting each piece drop noisily to the floor.

He took a menacing step towards the man, itching to grab him by his scrawny neck.

"'The fuck is going on up here?"

Barnes' usually mellow voice bellowed around the room and even Marcus jumped.

"You don't have clearance to be up here." Barnes stepped forward casting a cool gaze over the dismantled gun pieces littering the floor. Marcus wondered how long he'd been standing there.

"The metal fucker broke my gun, Barnes!"

This earned the techie a raised eyebrow and an icy glare. "What are you crying to me for? You let him take it? Lucky you didn't get broke too." Barnes cast his eyes around the room, assuming his authority. "What the fuck are y'all looking at me for?! Get back on those comms already!"

The rest of the hot-headed group fell back immediately looking sheepish.

Barnes bent slowly and picked up the piece of the gun. He dumped it in the lap of its owner. "If you can't put it back together you don't deserve to have one."

Marcus smirked, but he was caught in the act by Barnes. "Oh, don't think you're off the hook so easily." He gestured Marcus out to the corridor.

He was grateful when Barnes walked him out of earshot of the control room and kept his tone conversational. "Machine or Human, there are certain areas that are restricted – this is one of them. What were you doing up here?"

Marcus sighed. "She dragged me up here." He pointed a thumb in Star's direction.

If nothing else it caught Barnes off guard.

"She dragged me up here to see Kyle. They were all over the place yelling at each other, not knowing what the fuck to do. So I fix the receiver and they thank me by pulling a gun on me."

Barnes considered. "You're good with electronics." He stated.

Marcus felt his temper flair, waiting for Barnes to make a similar comment as that Jefferson asshole had.

"Don't get all riled up when I asked this but are you sure that's not a Skynet thing?"

Marcus had found over time that Barnes had a genuine curiosity about his capabilities. And it wasn't all about understanding the enemy, some of it was simply trying to assess his usefulness to the resistance, something Marcus was happy to prove.

In answer to Barnes' question Marcus shrugged. He didn't want to admit that there was a strong possibility that his skill with electronics had been improved by whatever Skynet did to his brain.

"But you were good with machines before ... when you were human?"

"Yeah, I was alright." Marcus cringed at how sulky he sounded.

"Well, I know there's plenty of electronics work you could be doing instead of the janitor crap I gotcha doing." He looked back at the control room, "Though maybe we'll leave the comms alone for a while."

They walked for a bit down the corridor, until Barnes spoke up with a certain reluctance in his tone. "We still have some testing to do."

Marcus had come to Barnes shortly after his release and asked for his help in testing his strengths and weaknesses. They'd started off simply - measuring his physical strength, which while considerably superior to any human was no match to the other Terminators. He could run laps around the bases all day and night and barely work up a sweat. He could hold his breath almost indefinitely. If he focused he could hear conversations happening up to ten metres away and discovered an ability to lip read from that same distance. However in all their exploration of Marcus's new abilities Barnes had carefully skirted around the more delicate issue of his pain threshold. Marcus was surprised to find it was Barnes who was the most reluctant, clearly uncomfortable to the idea of testing how many injuries could be inflicted on the man/machine before he gave up.

"Yeah." Marcus agreed nodding slowly. "Guess it's time to step it up a notch."

Barnes halted. "We don't have to, you know. You can just figure it out over time." It wasn't like Barnes to make excuses.

"We do, I need to know my limits."

"You could just ask Goodwin."

Marcus shook his head. "I don't want that guys help."

Barnes gazed at him for an uncomfortable moment. "You know what the problem is with having too many chips on your shoulder?"

Marcus waited expectantly for Barnes to continue then got impatient. "Well?"

Barnes shrugged. "Backache," and walked off.

* * *

Blair was having a nightmare.

Marcus was startled by the small half sounds she made – whimpers and groans that spoke of fear and despair she would never show while awake. As she began to toss and turn he wondered if he should wake her. Droplets of sweat formed on her forehead, her hands spasmed at her side. But it was a particularly pained sob that made the decision for him.

It was unfortunate that he had arrived back later than her because Blair ended up in his usual spot on the inside of the bed so he had slept on his right side, which meant that when he grabbed her shoulder to wake her it was with his left - the metal hand.

She shrieked, scrambling blindly away from him. He immediately backed up giving her space.

"Blair, it's alright. It was just a dream." He hid his metal hand behind his back, angry and ashamed of himself for such a cock up.

She blinked back tears trying to wash away the remains of her nightmare, still shaken and pale from whatever her mind had conjured up.

"What happened, what's wrong?" Kyle was standing up, weapon in hand looking equally disturbed.

"It's nothing, go back to bed." Marcus was annoyed to see Kyle hesitate, looking to Blair for confirmation.

She nodded stiffly. "Nightmare." She croaked.

He accepted this and crawled back under the covers, curling a protective arm around Star, who was wide awake and staring at Marcus's metal hand.

"I'm sorry I startled you. I'll go..." He mumbled, getting out of bed, looking for his clothes, wanting desperately to get away from their painfully accusing eyes.

"No, don't." She slid back down, still stiff and shaken but gave the bed an inviting rub.

There was an unusually pleading look in her eyes so he did as she asked, lying down alongside her.

She rolled onto her side, curled in tightly on herself, close enough to touch him though she didn't. "I forgot my gun this morning." She whispered.

He gave her a puzzled look.

"I was watching you with Star, talking about circuit boards." She was smiling at the memory, which eased some of the chill Marcus was feeling. "You're so good with her. Not in a sugary parental way, but you talk to her like a person, teach her things she'll need to know, without scaring her.

"I got so caught in this little scene of domestic bliss I was all the way to the hangar before I realised I'd left my gun behind and it scared the shit out of me."

It scared Marcus too. This was exactly the kind of distraction he did not want to cause Blair and he dreaded to think what action she might be forced to take to avoid being distracted like that in future.

"I dreamt that we were under attack." She went on, staring at the ceiling. "There were machines all over the base I had no weapon and couldn't find anyone else and they kept coming and coming."

"Shit," She shivered and ran her fingers through her hair. "I haven't had one that bad since the first time I saw a machine."

He lay beside her in the dark, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do or say - what words of comfort would help her. He felt every metal inch of his mechanical skeleton itching beneath his skin. His metal hand ached and he found himself scratching at it reflexively.

Blair noticed this movement in the dark and reached across him to take his hand.

He flinched, not wanting her to touch it, but she took it anyway. Lacing her fingers through his, examining the steel digits. He had wrapped some cloth over the burnt edge of skin.

She ran her thumb over the makeshift wrapping. "Does it hurt?"

"It's a little itchy lately."

"Maybe it's starting to re-grow. You should ask Kate to have a look at it."

He gave a brief nod, watching her face closely for signs of revulsion or fear at having to touch his metal hand. But she was watching him right back, reassuring him that she could deal with this.

"I wasn't having a nightmare about you - only that I couldn't find you." She tried to explain.

He pulled her against his chest, kissing her forehead. "I'm here, I'll make sure you're always armed."

Her shoulders hitched with silent laughter. She blew out a breath, shifted her body out of it's stiffness.

He wiped the cold sweat from her hairline with him thumb.

"Ugh, I'm too jumpy to sleep."

He thought for a moment, wanting to find a way to relax her. "How about a hot shower? I fixed the hot water in the shower rooms this afternoon."

"Really? That would be great." He moved to let her get up.

She bounced out of bed to find her towel.

He sat on the bed watching, delighted with himself for having done something that made her this happy.

She stopped and looked at him. "Aren't you coming?"

He didn't wait for her to ask again.

She led him down the flight of stairs to a set of communal showers, which they were lucky to find empty.

Marcus had forgotten the simple pleasure of showering with a lover. In fact showering in hot steamy water was a joy he's dearly missed. The base had been making do with cold water for a while.

Blair had brought with her a pot of goo which she lathered up in her hair and then his. Unlike the shampoos he remembered from his past life, this stuff had no discernable scent, and he wondered in between fighting killer robots and saving humanity where anyone had time to produce shampoos.

He took great satisfaction in washing his lover, letting his fingers massage her scalp, her neck, her shoulders, earning him delightful sighs and throaty groans. Blair returned the gesture, rubbing suds into his chests and up and down back. When her fingers slipped expertly around his dick he sighed heavily, and it jumped up to meet her hand.

He kissed her hungrily as she continued to stroke, eliciting moans and grunts from Marcus.

He pushed her back against the shower wall, hot water cascading down over them both, as held her breast with his flesh hand, consciously keeping the metal one against the wall and not letting it touch her.

She wrapped her thigh around his waist, and broke away from the kiss.

Their eyes met, she nodded enthusiastically, too breathless to find the words.

She then carefully raised herself up on tippy toe to slide herself over him.

He gave a throaty growl as her hot flesh eased around him until he was deep within her, filling and completing the gap between them.

He eased down and then back up and she sighed contentedly as he slowly established a rhythm that had them both groaning in ecstasy.

Marcus lost himself in the feelings, the wet and hot urgency taking over as he rode her, though at the back of his mind he was struggling to remind himself not to go too hard.

He could feel it building within in and he realised this was something else he'd missed from his time as a human, that he hadn't felt since before prison, and even then, had it ever been this good?

The practicalities of what might happen when he came had vanished and every thought of metal and machine and Skynet and war went with it in one blinding instance of pure, intense bliss.

He realised Blair had rolled her head back, bucking against the tiled wall as she followed him to climax. She was never more beautiful than in that moment, he face wiped of any stress or fear or concern and then he heard her sigh his name and thought he might come all over again.

He held her close, metal hand forgotten, feeling the tremors of electricity in her limbs. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she slumped bonelessly in her arms.

He was later thankful they'd gotten as far as they did because sex in so public a spot as the shower rooms was subject to interruption.

Theirs came in the form of two mechanics wolf whistling as Marcus pulled out of her.

"Oh fuck." She rolled her eyes.

"Did we just walk in a little private time with your robot?" One of them grinned malevolently.

So, obviously they knew who Marcus was.

"Just ignore them." Blair told him, when he glared at the pair.

"Yeah, just ignore us, you wanna get busy with the metal, that's ok with us, we'll just watch." The other laughed raucously.

"So honey, does he vibrate?"

"Fuck you!" Marcus stepped forward and got up in the lead guy's face, using his slightly bigger size to his advantage.

"Marcus." Blair's tone was warning. "You know it wouldn't bother me, but if Connor found out you put his mechanics in traction he might not be too happy."

"And who's gonna tell him?" Marcus took another step eyes ablaze, he could guess that even naked, wet and still half hard he probably cut an intimidating figure.

"Y-you wouldn't.." The mouthy one stuttered looking from Marcus to Blair.

Blair stepped forward, eyes ablaze, despite standing there bare to the bone her stance was commanding. "I wouldn't hang around to find out."

They took her advice and bolted.

Blair sighed and stepped back under the shower. "You shouldn't let them get you riled up."

I'm sorry I didn't think … I don't like them insulting you."

"Those assholes? They're grunts from the mech pool. You think I give a fuck about them?"

Marcus sighed, joining her under the spray, letting his temper cool as her body warmed him. "I guess you wouldn't when you're a hotshot pilot with a robot boyfriend."

"Who said anything about boyfriend?" She grinned, directly the showerhead at his face.

He spluttered. "So I'm just a highly advance sex toy to you?"

"Well you've got all the pieces."

"Yeah? You like this piece?" He rubbed himself lewdly against her.

"I like it okay," she shrugged.

"Oh really!" He laughed, positioning himself teasingly at her entrance.

A cough, a decidedly female cough, from the doorway makes them both jump.

Kate Connor staring imperiously at them, like two bold school kids.

"Blair, Barnes needs you in the control room." She turned to go without another word. Marcus listened to Blair curse as she scrambled to dry herself and dress. She might not care what a bunch of mechanics thought but obviously Kate Connor catching them in the act was something Blair was less than happy about.

He didn't want to push her on it. This was new to him too, although he was familiar with the situation having played the bad boy girls brought home to disapproving families. He didn't want Blair ostracised for sleeping with him, but neither did he want to give her up.

* * *

Kate was didn't stay on her feet long these days. Her due date was creeping up on her, but she could still be found around the infirmary during the day, though usually sitting down doing paperwork rather than dealing with patients – not even the apocalypse could do away with paperwork.

When Marcus appeared in the infirmary doorway, looking around hesitantly, she was the only one not looking after a patient. She called him over from her position on the desk chair they had found for her.

He slowly approached and she noticed he was clutching a bandaged wrist.

"Are you injured?"

He conspicuously dropped his wrist to his side. "It's nothing, really. I don't want to bother you."

"I don't think you came all the way to the infirmary over nothing." She held out a hand and beckoned for him to show her his wrist. "Can you take off the glove?" She asked as she reached behind her to fetch set of surgical gloves.

"It's not serious, it's just ... itchy."

"Itchy?" She raised an eyebrow, curious to see what might cause his synthetic skin to itch as she unwound his grimy bandage.

Marcus kicked over a wheelie stool to sit down opposite her, his face forced into a mask of indifference.

Kate remembers seeing the metal skeleton revealed under burnt skin when he was first brought into this very infirmary. The metal hand was still creepy to see bursting from the ruined flesh of his wrist. He had it clenched into a tight fist, as if making it smaller might disguise its presence. It was hard not to sympathise. He was clearly embarrassed to come to her with his less-than-human problems.

She could see now that the edge of the skin that had been burnt off was red and raw looking, in some places an open wound weeping a clear fluid.

"My guess is the skin's trying to re-grow."

"Really?" His blue eyes lit up with hope, as he examined the regenerating skin for himself. "What should I do?"

"Hard to know, probably good to air it out now and then." She sighed, twisting around to a medkit that was sitting nearby. She picked through it to find an antiseptic cream. "If it was human skin I'd tell you to keep it clean and free of germs." When she went to dab some cream around the edges of re-growing skin he pulled away.

"You don't need to waste that stuff on me. I'm not likely to get an infection."

She paused, he was probably right, but she could see the pinkness in the skin that meant it was probably a bit sensitive. "It might help the itching."

He lay his wrist back down with evident reluctance.

Every now and then she would cast her eyes upwards to look at him thoughtfully. After a while a thought struck her. "You haven't been to see Goodwin."

He blew out a frustrated breath. "Why does everyone want me to go see this guy?"

"Because Blair went to a lot of trouble to find him and bring him back here." She wanted to add a _dumbass_ to the end, but he could already see he felt bad.

"He can help you, you know. He understands machines almost as well as John does. We're lucky to have him here."

He didn't speak for a while, but didn't argue or make any smartass comments so Kate took it as a kind of acquiescence.

"I'm sure it's hard to be confronted with what you are but running around with Barnes will only tell you so much. If you really want to understand your abilities you should talk to a guy who can tell you what you're programmed to be able to do."

She went on as she began rewrapping his wrist. "People don't get it so easy. They have to figure out their strength and weakness through a somewhat painful process of trial and error."

"I want to do it the human way." He growled.

"And risk hurting someone in the process? I don't think that's what you want."

He hung his head, rubbing the newly bandaged wrist. "Fine, I'll go talk to him."

"Great. Are we done here cos..." She began the laborious process of getting to her feet, it was time to call it a day, and also she was bursting to go to the bathroom.

"There was one other thing." He mumbled in the gravelly voice of his, his head bowed as he pulled the leather work glove on over his metal hand.

She looked up at him, curious.

He shifted uncomfortably again. "I wanted to ... apologise for this morning."

Oh god no, she did not want to have this conversation with him. "It's ok, you don't ...." She shook her head emphatically.

"No, look. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable that we ... that me and Blair..." He swallowed, looking as awkward as she felt.

"Marcus, listen to me. What you and Blair get up to is none of my business."

"It doesn't bother you then?"

She thought about it. Did it bother her than Blair was fucking a machine – maybe, at least it had. But then she remembered the way Blair had beamed at that meeting this morning, playing nice with Barnes, she even ruffled Kyle's hair. Kate considered Blair a friend, and knowing that someone was making her happy was a powerful thing in Kate's book.

"Not really."

He gave her a small smile, and Kate was struck by how handsome he was when he did so. She frowned then. "But I trust you're ..."

"If you're going to say being safe...eh, I didn't think I could..."

"On no, you can't. There's nothing down there but sperm coloured lubricant." She cringed as a brief flash of emotion crossed his features. "I'm sorry that was blunt."

"No, it's okay, it's better that way." He replied though it left her wondering if it was the truth.

"What I was going to say was I hope you're being discreet, what with Kyle and the little girl in your quarters. I mean, John will kill you if you traumatise Kyle Reese with your sexual..." She gestured broadly at his nether region. "... shenanigans." Oh god, she sounded like her mother, she cringed again.

"Look, if that's all, I really need to go. If you think this is embarrassing you should stick around and her me complain about how this baby has made an enemy of my bladder."

"No," Marcus was quick to stop her there. "I'm all good." He flexed his newly bandaged wrist. "Thanks, Kate." He gave her a long meaningful look, wordlessly thanking her for more than her medical ministration.

"You're welcome." She watched him stride out of the infirmary, head held a little higher. She couldn't help the pensive head tilt as she watched him walk away. Skynet had been clever to select a guy who could win people over so easily with his looks. She sighed, knowing it was just the hormone making her a touch hornier than usual, but hell, she could look at the handsome machine if she wanted to.

* * *

Marcus was summoned to the Connors' quarters by a young soldier. It was testament to his new standing in the resistance that the guy was not only alone but appeared unarmed.

He found a tableau of John Connor, Barnes and Kate Connor bathed in the soft light of some desk lamps. Kate was at John's left, checking his IV, and Barnes was at his right, poring over some maps that were spread out over a tray table.

Connor nodded to Marcus as he entered.

Even before being impaled on a rebar by the Terminator, Connor had taken a severe beating. A few weeks on and the bruising was still a vivid yellow. He was still thin, shaky and pale but Marcus could see he wasn't quite as green in the gills as when Marcus had last seen him.

"You wanted to see me?"

Connor nodded again. "We're moving out tomorrow, dismantling the base and redistributing the resources. We've had a grace period since the destruction of the San Francisco hub, but we're pushing it now. This base was compromised, it's time to relocate."

Marcus was painfully aware that he was the sole reason this base was considered compromised.

Connor drew his attention to a point on one of the maps. "Our next step is to take back a base in Colorado. It was one of the first military sites Skynet targeted at the start of the war but it's been poorly protected in recent years."

"Cheyenne Mountain." Marcus read off the map, wondering why this one was so special.

"It used to be a NORAD facility." Barnes said by way of explanation. "The machines bombed the shit out of it but there's still at least ten underground levels worth of operational facility."

"I want you with me on this, Marcus." Connor said looking direct and steely-eyed. "You'll report directly to me. You're identity and function on my team will be on a strict need-to-know basis. We'll be mounting our offensive from Sante Fe in 2 weeks time."

Marcus looked at the maps considering the long flight north from Sante Fe to Colorado Springs. All it would take was a soft north-easterly wind and Skynet would smell them coming before they even crossed the border. Something else occurred to him and he looked up sharply. "When you said redistribution of resources you meant people right? Where's Blair going? And Kyle and Star?"

Connor and his wife shared a meaningful look that meant there was some unspoken discussion happening between them. Connor broke away and answered after a moment of intolerable silence, speaking in a weary tone that told Marcus he was expecting a difficult reaction. "I'm sending Kate to a small settlement outside Tijuana to have the baby. I want Kyle to go with her. The girl, Star, should go too."

Kate seems to sense Marcus's mixed emotions at the idea. "It's a small base, it used to be a hydroponics centre but they've been able to farm the land there and avoid detection for years now. It's safe," She implored him. "And they'll have plenty of food, and people to look after them."

Marcus surprised himself by feeling a little lump in his throat at the thought of being separated from his two charges. He'd long been preparing himself for the inevitable, but it saddened him all the same. At least when he went into battle for Connor he would know they were safely hidden away and being looked after by Kate.

"And Blair?"

At this Connor frowned, and Marcus realised that she had been the real source of his reticence and he phrased his answer diplomatically.

"I haven't decided where her skills are best utilised."

"John!" Kate reprimanded him.

The other man sighed heavily. "Fine, I don't know if it's a good idea to have you two together. My wife, on the other hand, seems to have rediscovered her romantic streak."

Kate rolled her eyes. "It's nothing to do with romance, you Jackass. She's a talented pilot and you need her on your side!"

"She was never insubordinate until he arrived." John glared at his wife.

"Bullshit." Barnes added calmly. "Williams has a wild streak a mile long. She wasn't insubordinate to you before 'cos you didn't give her reason to be - til you started threatening her man."

"Look, I get it," Marcus lifted a placating hand seeing where this was headed. "You don't want us together, maybe the idea of a machine fucking one of your women disgusts you, but I don't want you holding that against Blair. You should listen to your wife. Blair is a damn good pilot and if your offensive is going to be as messy as I think it is you're going to need all the talent you can get around you." He sighed, as much as he'd been hoping that Star and Kyle wouldn't be taken away from him, he'd been praying twice as hard that he wouldn't have Blair taken too.

When he spoke it was in a low choked voice. "If you want me to stay away from her, I'll do it." He felt the dull death of something creeping over him, as his recently elated heart turned cold.

"Really? You'd back off if I told you to?"

Marcus felt his gorge rise. "Yes." He growled, wanting to kick something.

"Whatever's between you can't be that strong if you'd give her up so easily." Connor commented drily.

Marcus puffed a hot breath through his nose, clenching fists that he was only barely able to keep from hitting the man who was still recovering from surgery. "I'm not..!" He bit his lip to keep from shouting. "I'm not giving up easily! But I won't be the reason she's held back." He took a deep breath. "I care about her too much to stay with her if it means she loses her standing with you." He pointed a finger at John's chest. "You're the one giving up on her."

He wanted to bolt, and start slamming doors, and punching walls, and run to Blair and taste her one last time, rather than stand here being insulted by this man that seemed to hold everyone's fate in his hands.

"He's right, and you know it." Barnes shrugged, crossing his arms across his broad chest. "You'd be crazy to go into Colorado without a pilot like Williams."

There was silence while Marcus stared at Connor, wondering if he would change his mind. While Connor simply pursed his lips staring back at Marcus, and breathed slowly, until his head began to bob minutely as the idea took hold. "Alright."

Marcus looked to Kate, who was struggling to hide a smirk.

"Alright, Williams comes with us."

"And..?" Kate prompted.

John rolled his neck tiredly. "And I don't give a fuck what goes on in the privacy of your quarters so long you've both got your head in the game when we're on the battlefield."

"Thank you." Marcus sighed.

"Are we done with the Romeo and Juliet bullshit now?" Barnes demanded, shifting testily.

"We are." Connor rubbed his temple. "Marcus, you can go help with the packing. We'll be rolling out at oh-nine-hundred hours. Private Alvarez will give you the transport details."

Marcus nodded turning to go, wondering how he was going to break the news to Star and Kyle.

* * *

"You're sending us away?"

When Kyle wanted to hit a nerve he seemed to know exactly where to hit with Marcus, and using the very same hurt and wounded tone he'd used when Marcus tried to leave them in LA was his most effective weapon.

"It's not up to me, kid - Connor's order." Marcus sat on a chair facing the two kids who he'd sat down on the bed in order to get their full attention. "He wants you to be safe, and so do I."

"But I can help! You know I can handle myself in a combat situation, or work on the comms ..."

"I never said you couldn't."

"Star too. You know she can help in ways the others don't know yet..."

Marcus narrowed his eyes, hating every minute of this conversation. "I know that. I know you both can handle yourselves, but not this time. You sit this one out, you go with Kate, look after her and the baby, and Blair and I will come find you when we can." He had no idea when that might be but he felt assured that if he made it out of Colorado he would at least visit them to make sure this Tijuana base was as safe as Connor made out.

Kyle shot to his feet pacing to the other side of the room and back. "That's bullshit, man. You're just trying to get rid of us so you can shack up with your girlfriend! Don't try and paint it differently for our sake!"

"That's not true." He looked to Star, but it was clear from her sorrowful expression that Kyle was speaking for both of them.

"Yeah, right! You think I don't hear you whispering at night, talking about how you might get some alone time. I'm not an idiot, Marcus. You don't want us around, you've been trying to get away from us since we met you!"

Marcus was beginning to wish he'd waited for Blair. He rubbed his jaw, trying to find a way to explain himself. "I know I was a complete asshole for trying to leave you in LA, and for letting the Harvester get you," He added as an afterthought. "But I walked back into the belly of the beast that made me to get you out of there, and I'd do it again in a second. You **do** matter to me, I'm not trying to get rid of you and I am **not** abandoning you."

Kyle eyes flickered on that word – abandon - and Marcus realised he'd hit on something core to Kyle's experiences over the last few years. Two kids left alone in LA, meant that at some point there had been someone who had left them there to fend for themselves. Marcus felt like a heel for doing it again.

"I know how this must seem, but really I just want you both to be safe. Connor wouldn't send his wife and their baby to this place if he didn't think they'd be safe there."

Kyle was leaning against the wall, arms wrapped around him, frowning at the wall opposite.

Marcus sighed and sat on the bed beside Star. He hesitantly put his arm around her thin shoulders, and she took it as an invitation to wrap her arms tightly around his waist, clinging to him as if her life depended on it.

"This isn't like LA. You'd be on a base full of other people to look after you, with plenty of food and protection from the machines." He laid a gentle hand on her back, looking imploringly at Kyle, who was still refusing to do anything but stare at the wall.

"Kyle, please. Believe me when I say I'd take you with me if I could, but it's too dangerous, and ... and someone has to look after Star."

At that Kyle at least closed his eyes, and Marcus knew he was beginning to see sense.

Before he could go on Blair arrived back, pushing the door open onto their less that blissful domestic scene.

She looked them over, her eyes falling on Star's little form curled up against Marcus's side. "I take it you told them."

He nodded grimly.

She stood beside Kyle. "Connor wants you and Kate to be somewhere safe until he has a secure base of operations, no amount of arguing is going to change that." She told him bluntly.

"But why?" Kyle demanded, though his anger was somewhat less heated than previously. "Why does Connor even care about me?!"

Marcus watched Blair's reaction closely, wondering how she was going to broach this one. They'd both been there that day when Connor had called Kyle Reese his father, but Marcus has been studiously ignoring the fact for some time now.

When Blair spoke it was in a carefully worded and soft tone, that Marcus filed away as being her skirting-around-the-truth voice.

"Connor sees a lot of potential in you, Kyle. He ... he thinks of you as family, and he wants someone he can trust to be with Kate and the baby." She drew closer, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "He doesn't have a lot of people he can trust, Kyle, but he trusts you, and you can't let him down." She held his gaze for a while and Marcus watched as the power of John Connor compelled Kyle to submit.

He nodded stiffly, and Marcus was relieved when Blair pulled the boy into a tight hug, something a kid like Kyle probably didn't get enough of.

They stayed that way for a while, Kyle and Blair, and Marcus with Star, enjoying the simple and comforting act of physical contact with another person.

In the morning they would go their separate ways, though thankfully Star and Kyle would still have each other, and Marcus would still be blessed with Blair at his side, but he knew this marked a new chapter in each of their lives. He hoped desperately that he would one day be able to see these kids again, that he would be able to reunite the first family he'd had in since he was a kid himself and that he might be able to fulfil the promise he made to himself to look after them.

He'd crawled out of the dirt to a future in which human life was a desperate existence. So what little sense of caring, of love, and of family he could offer, he would give in spades to these kids and to the woman he knew he was falling in love with.

When faced with his second death after San Francisco he'd mused on the difference between humans and machines, putting his faith in the strength of the human heart. While the flesh of the heart no longer beat within him he was still utterly possessed by it. Never a spiritual man, Marcus shied away from such existential or ecumenical ideas but he couldn't deny that he believed a human soul still resided within his machine body.

He had risen from the dead, his will had been tested, and he refused to succumb to the idea that he was little more than metal. Humans were more than the flesh they were made of, and so too was he capable of being more than the machine he was created to be.

* * *

The End


End file.
